WBB: LSU Survives Lady Dawgs’ Rally
Reigan Richardson
LSU held off a furious Georgia rally, defeating the Lady Bulldogs 73-67 Thursday night.
The 13th-ranked Tigers improve to 20-4 overall and 8-3 in Southeastern Conference play, while No. 14 Georgia falls to 17-6 and 6-5.
What was a one-sided affair for a majority of the game turned into a barn-burner before a raucous crowd of 6,943 fans at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Paced by the tremendous backcourt triumvirate of Khalya Pointer, Jailin Cherry and Alexis Morris, the Tigers grabbed control of the game early.
The Tigers led 23-11 at the end of the first quarter and 37-21 at halftime. LSU scored the final six points of the half on its final trip down the floor of the second period. That lead would grow to 48-28 for the Tigers in the third quarter, thanks in part to a seven-point possession, aided by a technical foul.
Georgia coach Joni Taylor then turned to her reserves.
Fueled by freshman Reigan Richardson’s career-best 17 points, Georgia’s bench ignited the comeback. Fellow freshman Tineya Hilton, who had played in just one game and hadn’t scored since enrolling and becoming eligible in December, scored nine points. The Lady Dogs caught LSU at 62-62 in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers closed in strong fashion thanks to dominant rebounding and outstanding free throw shooting. LSU outrebounded Georgia 47-29, and hit 27 of 34 free throws, including 11 of 14 in the fourth quarter.
Morris was 13 of 14 from the foul line and scored a game-high 26 points with six assists. Pointer had 21 points, and Cherry 18.
“There were a lot of good things that came out of this game tonight, particularly from some of our younger players,” said Taylor. “But we have a lot to work on, a lot of areas where we have to improve.”
Softball: Georgia Falls in Opener to UCF
The University of Georgia softball team fell to the UCF Knights in the season opener Thursday evening, dropping a 7-6 decision in eight innings.
“Tonight was a great game, a great crowd,” said head coach Tony Baldwin. “We talk about our performance is more important than the outcome. If we perform at a high enough level, the outcome will take care of itself. Tonight, the outcome didn’t go our way, but there was a lot of good things. I thought defensively, we kept ourselves in the game, we made some unbelievable plays. Double plays, throwing runners out, really proud of the defense. I thought we did a good job of answering back. Every time they scored in the game, bar that last one, we answered right back. Those are signs of a team with some grit. I thought we stayed together, we kept fighting the fight.”
No. 12 Georgia scattered seven hits to push across six runs. Sophomore Sydney Chambley and junior Sara Mosley each tallied two hits. Junior Jaiden Fields and Chambley each provided a two-run home run in the contest.
Sophomore Britton Rogers worked two and a third innings in her start in the circle. Rogers allowed five earned runs on a pair of hits with four strikeouts and six walks allowed. Fellow sophomore Madison Kerpics (0-1) took over in the circle in the third inning, working five innings, suffering the loss. Kerpics allowed one earned run, fanning five Knights.
The Knights (1-0) pushed the first run of the season across the plate in the bottom half of the second. With runners on first and second and the hit-and-run on, Katie Burge grounded out to second to drive the run in and go ahead 1-0.
Sophomore Payden Bordeau drew a leadoff walk to open the third frame. Two batters later, Chambley blasted a two-run shot to left to put the Bulldogs (0-1) ahead, 2-1.
UCF retook a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the inning on a pair of bases-loaded walks. Kerpics took over in the circle for Rogers. An infield single and another walk widened the Knights’ lead to 5-2 after three innings in the opener.
Fields knocked a line drive, two-run home run, Georgia’s second of the game, to left in the top of the fourth to cut the lead to one, 5-4.
The Knights got one back in the bottom of the inning on a defensive miscue to make it a two-run game, 6-4.
Georgia passed the bat in the top of the fifth to score twice and knot the game at six-all. Chambley bunt for a hit and took second on an error. She advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a line drive single off the bat of senior Lacey Fincher. Senior pinch runner CJ Landrum turned on the speed and scored all the way from first on a double down the left field line from junior Sara Mosley, tying the game at 6-6.
The Bulldogs’ best chance to score was extinguished in the top of the sixth, stranding two runners in scoring position.
UCF’s Shannon Doherty knocked a one-out solo home run down the left field line to end the game in the eighth, 7-6.
Baseball: Jaden Woods And Jonathan Cannon Named Preseason All-SEC
University of Georgia sophomore Jaden Woods and junior Jonathan Cannon have been named to the preseason All-Southeastern Conference baseball squad by the league coaches, the SEC announced Thursday.
The Bulldog duo made the All-SEC second team. Cannon was named one of the starting pitchers while Woods was named as the reliever. The first and second team squads each featured nine position players, a designated hitter or utility player, two starting pitchers and one reliever.
Woods, a 6-2, 198-pound native of Warner Robins, Ga., made 17 appearances and four starts for the Bulldogs as a freshman in 2021. He posted a 4-1 record with one save and a 4.58 ERA. In 53 innings pitched, Woods registered 53 strikeouts and 24 walks. All five of his decisions came in SEC action. One of the highlights of his rookie campaign came when he provided four scoreless innings in a win over top-ranked Arkansas in Fayetteville. Last year, Woods was named a 2nd Team Freshman All-American by Perfect Game/Rawlings as well as to the SEC All-Freshman squad by the league coaches.
Cannon, a 6-6, 213-pound native of Alpharetta, Ga., has been named a 3rd Team Preseason All-American by multiple outlets this year. Last season, Cannon went 4-2 with a 3.93 Earned Run Average (ERA). He struck out 57 batters with just 13 walks in 63.1 innings pitched. Due to illness, Cannon did not make his 2021 debut until March 9 and then ended the season as one of the best pitchers in the country. He posted road wins over No. 1 Vanderbilt and No. 7 Florida and beat No. 11 Ole Miss in Athens to close out the regular season.
Along with the preseason All-SEC teams, the league announced that Ole Miss has been predicted to win the 2022 SEC baseball championship as voted by the league’s 14 head coaches in an annual preseason poll. Six different schools received first place votes to win the SEC title. Arkansas was predicted to win the SEC Western Division, while Ole Miss and Mississippi State tied for the second most votes. Vanderbilt was the pick to win the Eastern Division, followed by Florida and Georgia.
The 2022 college baseball season opens Feb. 18 while conference play is set to begin March 18. The 2022 SEC Baseball Tournament will take place May 24-29 at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala. Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin is in his ninth season leading the Bulldogs. Georgia is ranked in the top 25 of four preseason polls. Eight SEC teams have been ranked in the top-25 of the preseason polls. The No. 14 Bulldogs will play host to Albany in a three-game series at Foley Field to open the campaign.
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