SOFTBALL: UGA Wins Two in Orlando
The 12th-ranked University of Georgia softball team picked up two more wins in Orlando on Saturday, defeating Fresno State 11-5 in the first game of the day then picked up an extra-inning 5-4 victory over Minnesota in the final game of the day.
With the wins, Georgia has won four-straight and is now 4-1 on the young season.
No. 12 Georgia 11, Fresno State 5
The offense was hot early in the day, recording 11 hits. Lacey Fincher, Aniyah Black, and Savana Sikes all picked up two hits. Sara Mosley and Fincher each drove in three runs as Hayley Eaton had two RBI. In all, eight hitters had at least a hit in the contest.
Freshman Kylie Macy worked three and two-thirds innings in her second start of the weekend. Macy allowed three earned runs and struck out four batters. Sophomore Riley Orcutt pitched an inning and two-thirds in relief, giving up one run with two strikeouts. Fifth-year Lauren Mathis (2-0) was awarded the win, pitching one and two-thirds of scoreless, one-hit softball with two K’s.
Georgia capitalized on a pair of back-to-back walks to open the game when Mosley launched a three-run home run to dead center, putting Georgia ahead 3-0. Fincher followed suit later in the inning with a solo shot to right, her first home run of the season, widening the first inning lead to 4-0.
Three-straight walks to start the second inning loaded the bases for Georgia. Junior Sydney Kuma was hit by a pitch to drive in a run. Fincher delivered a two-run single to center to widen Georgia’s second inning lead to 7-0.
Fresno State (0-2) got on the board in the home half of the second on a pinch-hit RBI triple off the wall in left by Alyssa Orr, 7-1.
Sophomore Hayley Eaton provided a two-RBI single in the third to being the Georgia advantage to eight, 9-1.
Fresno State cut into Georgia’s lead with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth off the bat of Orr, making it a six-run game, 10-4.
Georgia got one run back when Kuma scored on an error in the sixth to bring Georgia’s lead back to seven, 11-4.
The final run of the game from Fresno State scored in the bottom of the sixth, bringing the final score to 11-5.
No. 12 Georgia 5, Minnesota 4 (8 inn.)
Georgia’s offense recorded 10 hits against the Golden Gopher pitchers. Sophomores Sydney Chambley and Eaton each picked up two hits at the top and bottom of Georgia’s order. Six other Bulldogs had a hit in the game including two RBI from sophomore Jayda Kearney.
In the circle, Britton Rogers worked one and a third innings in her start, allowing three runs. Fellow sophomore Madison Kerpics (2-1) worked six and two-thirds innings in relief en route to the victory, allowing one run on three hits, fanning nine Gophers in the outing.
The Bulldogs strung together three two-out hits to push across four runs in the top of the second. With runners on first and second, Chambley singled to right, plating freshman Lyndi Rae Davis. Kearney got a double to fall in right when the ball was lost in the sun by the right fielder, plating both runners. Kearney immediately came in to score on a single shot into center off the bat of Mosley, widening the lead to 4-0 in the second frame.
Minnesota (1-2) responded in the bottom of the inning, plating three runs on back-to-back RBI hits, slicing Georgia’s lead to 4-3. Kerpics entered in the inning and picked up a pair of strikeouts to wiggle out of the jam and preserve the Bulldogs’ lead. Minnesota knotted the game at 4-all the following inning, sending the game to the fourth all tied up.
The game remained tied at 4-4 and was sent into extra innings. With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, Fincher began the top of the eighth on second. She came around to score on a single up the middle off the bat of Davis to give the Dogs the 5-4 advantage.
In the bottom of the inning, Minnesota bunted the runner over to third. Minnesota attempted a squeeze, but the bunt was popped up into foul territory, was caught by Chambley who doubled off the runner on third for the final out and the win.
Georgia’s final game of The CFX Classic is set for 12 p.m. Sunday when the Bulldogs take on Longwood in Orlando.
Head Coach Tony Baldwin
“This was a fun day of playing softball. We got a lot of people in; I think we used five pitchers, nearly everybody on the roster position player-wise, we got just about everybody in, and they all contributed and played a role. I thought our dugout was outstanding. Lyndi Rae [Davis] coming through with a clutch hit. I’m really proud about a lot of things but you can’t say enough about Madison Kerpics closing that one out. That felt like a regional final, super regional, SEC weekend type of a game and I’m really proud of the way we kept our poise and discipline and played well.”
On the offense having a big performance…
“We had a conversation before the day to talk about doing the discipline things that it takes to be a high-level offense. It’s fun to just stand up there and just free wheel it, but at the end of the day when you’re playing good teams, you’ve got to have some discipline with that, and I thought we took real good step forward in that today.”
T&F: Matthew Boling and Nikolai Van Huyssteen Highlight Final Day at the Tiger Paw Invitational
Junior Matthew Boling won the 200-meter dash and freshman Nikolai Van Huyssteen won the men’s pole vault with a personal best 5.20m (17-00.75) to highlight the final day of the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C., on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Distance Dawgs completed their two-day meet at the Music City Challenge in Nashville, Tenn. with sophomore Charles Condra recording a personal best 8:19.03, fourth place finish in the 3000-meter.
Coach Caryl’s Comments: “We had a series of personal bests and performances that are aligning with our targets at this point in the indoor season. We still have progress to make before SECs and NCAAs, but I am encouraged with the teams showing this weekend.”
The Lowdown: A majority of the action on Saturday came for Georgia at the Tiger Paw meet. Boling won the men’s 200-meter with a time of 20.41, just shy of his personal best this season, while Van Huyssteen set a personal best, jumping 5.20m (17-00.75) en route to winning men’s pole vault. Senior Elija Godwin also set a new personal bet in the 200-meter dash, finishing fifth with a time of 20.60.
For the women, freshman Kenondra Davis set a new personal best in the 200-meter dash (23.33 seconds) finished in the top-10, while junior Ana da Silva matched her personal best of 16.82m in the shot put, finishing fifth. Senior Titiana Marsh and junior Shelby Tyler also took home fifth place showings for the Bulldogs. Marsh traveled 13.38m in the triple jump, while Tyler set a new personal best in the high jump at 1.77m.
In the Music City, Condra led Georgia with a fourth place showing in the 3000-meter, while freshman Zachary Roe came in sixth with a time of 8:20.17.
Where Does The Indoor Season Take The Dogs: Georgia has a single regular season meet remaining. The Bulldogs are slated to travel to the one-day USC Indoor Open in Columbia, S.C., on Feb. 18.
After that, the postseason begins with the SEC Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, on Feb. 25-26. Georgia will return to Birmingham, Ala., on March 11-12 for the NCAA Indoor Championships. One week later, the outdoor season cranks up in Atlanta.
WBB: #14/17 Georgia (6-5 SEC) vs. #1 South Carolina (10-1 SEC) Today at Noon
Jillian Hollingshead
Noon | Athens, Ga. | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Watch: ESPN2 (Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli)
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler)
960 AM The Ref, WXKT 103.7 FM and the Georgia Bulldog App
Opening Tip Storylines
» Georgia is back home to host No. 1 South Carolina on Super Bowl Sunday at Stegeman Coliseum. Tip time is set for noon ET on ESPN2.
» Georgia and South Carolina last met in the 2021 SEC Tournament Championship game, with the Gamecocks winning that contest 67-62. Neither team led by more than nine points in that matchup. A Que Morrison basket cut South Carolina’s lead to 65-62 with 17 seconds remaining, but Georgia could not close the gap the rest of the way.
» Sunday’s contest is billed as Georgia’s ‘Divine 9 Game.’ The Lady Bulldogs have invited members and alumni of the nine historically black fraternities and sororities to attend the game, where they will be honored during the first timeout of the first quarter.
» On the backs of freshmen Reigan Richardson, Tineya Hylton and Jillian Hollingshead, Georgia erased a 20-point deficit Thursday night against LSU. Richardson finished with a career-high 17 points and hit 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Hylton finished with nine points, including a pair of second-half 3-pointers.
» Graduate center Jenna Staiti was named one of 10 finalists for the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award on Friday. Staiti is also on the Naismith National Player of the Year Midseason Team.
» Georgia is looking for its first win against South Carolina since 2013 – a 42-40 victory in Athens. The Lady Bulldogs have lost 14-straight games against the Gamecocks.
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