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Video/Box Score: UGA pounds UNC Asheville, 17-5

Georgia’s 16-hit attack featured six home runs as it clinched a series over UNC Asheville with a 17-5 win in eight innings Saturday at Foley Field.

Junior Slate Alford provided the final Bulldog home run, a three-run blast to end the contest due to the 10-run rule. Graduate Logan Jordan smashed a pair of solo home runs while senior Fernando Gonzalez (3-for-5, 2 RBI) and graduate Dylan Goldstein (3-for-4, 5 RBI) homered for the second straight day. The first round-tripper came from graduate Dillon Carter in the second inning to put Georgia in front 4-0. The Bulldogs made Asheville starter Justin Honeycutt (0-1) work from the onset as he needed 45 pitches to get through the first. Georgia (2-0) built a 3-0 lead courtesy of an RBI-single by sophomore Kolby Branch followed by a two-run single by graduate Paul Toetz in his first Bulldog at bat.

Graduate right-hander Christian Mracna (1-0) went the first four innings for the win, allowing a run on two hits with three walks and four strikeouts. When he left, Georgia had built an 9-1 advantage. Relief pitchers Brian Zeldin, Blake Gillespie, Max DeJong, Brandt Pancer and Chandler Marsh took care of the rest of the game. Marsh struck out the side in his 2024 debut.

“We all started playing this game in our youth, and it was fun, and that’s what we want to get back to,” said Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Wes Johnson. “We have to be serious, but this is a fun game, and we want our guys to continue to feel that.”

Asheville (0-2) got another home run from centerfielder Robbie Burnett, his second of the series, which cut the deficit to 9-2. Asheville plated a pair of runs in the seventh to make 10-5 before Georgia responded with four runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth for the final. 

“We have a lot of talent on the bench and on the field,” said Jordan. “Our main goal is to get the ball over the fence, and we have a chance to do that a lot this year. It’s something we preach as much as can; crush the ball as hard as we can.”

The series concludes Sunday with first pitch slated for 1:02 p.m., and it will be simulcast on SECN+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

Video Highlights

Box Score

Softball: Dawgs run rule FSU 20-10 (highlights included)

The fourth-ranked Georgia softball team defeated No. 7/5 Florida State Saturday morning in five innings, 20-10, in the Shiners Children’s Clearwater Invitational at Eddie C. Moore Complex.

Georgia’s afternoon game against Minnesota was rained out and will not be made up.

The Bulldogs remain undefeated on the season at 9-0, finishing the Shiners Children’s Clearwater Invitational 4-0 with top-25 wins against No. 6/8 Oklahoma State, No. 19/20 UCLA, and No. 7/5 Florida State.

As a team, Georgia hit .311 in the tournament, scoring 41 runs in four games. Sara Mosley drove in 10 runs to lead the Bulldogs, scattering four doubles. Sydney Kuma went 8-for-13 on the weekend to hit .615 with a home run. In all, Georgia hit eight home runs.

In the circle, Lilli Backes finished the weekend 2-0 with a save in 16 innings, striking out 10 batters.

No. 4 Georgia 20, No. 7/5 Florida State 10 (5 inn.)

Georgia routed No. 7/5 Florida State to begin its final day in Clearwater Saturday. The Bulldogs’ 20 runs were the most ever scored against the Seminoles in FSU’s history.

The offense scattered 16 hits for its 20 runs. Mosley, Kuma, and freshman Emily Digby each scattered three hits. Mosley set a career-best seven RBI while Digby and Jayda Kearney each drove in four. Kearney knocked two home runs in the game and scored four times. Nine total Dogs hitters recorded a hit including home runs from Kearney, Lauren Burnett, and Sarah Gordon. 

Shelby Walters pitched two and a third innings in her start, allowing six runs, three earned, on four hits. Backes (3-0) earned her second win in back-to-back appearances, working two and two-thirds innings in relief, allowing four runs on seven hits.

The bats came alive early as Georgia put up five runs in the first inning. After a leadoff walk to Dallis Goodnight, Kearney stepped in and hit a towering two-run home run to go ahead quick on the Seminoles, 2-0. With runners in scoring position, Mosley doubled to the left-center gap to drive in both runners and widen the lead to 4-0. Digby followed with a double of her own to score Mosley and make it a five-spot in the first.

FSU jumped on the board with a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the inning, 5-1.

Georgia mounted a two-out rally in the second, scoring nine runs to open a 14-1 lead. The scoring started when Mosley doubled with bases loaded to drive in three. Digby picked up her second double, a two-RBI gapper to left center, then Burnett hit a pinch hit two-run home run followed by a two-run homer from Kearney, her second of the game.

A pair of two-out throwing errors by Walters extended the bottom of the second and allowed three FSU errors to score, 14-4.

Gordon hit her first Bulldog home run, a solo shot down the right field line in the third, to bring the lead back to 11, 15-4. Georgia proceeded to load the baes then Hannah Davila drew a two-out walk to drive in a run, picking up her first career RBI and bringing the lead to 16-4.

Two RBI base hits from the Seminoles cut the Georgia lead back to 16-6 in the bottom of the third.

Digby picked up her third hit and fourth RBI on a single to the wall in right to drive in Mosley in the top of the fourth to bring the lead back to 11, 17-6.

The Seminoles used a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 17-8.

Georgia’s offense didn’t stop in the top of the sixth. The Dogs loaded the bases then Jaiden Fields drove in Kearney with a base hit to left. Mosley picked up RBI number six and seven with a double to left center, bringing the tally to 20-8.

FSU didn’t go quietly plating two runs on a sac fly and an RBI single, 20-10, but Backes held the Seminoles to complete the five-inning victory. 

No. 4 Georgia vs. Minnesota (rained out)

Georgia’s final game of the Shiners Children’s Clearwater Invitational, an afternoon game against Minnesota, was rained out. The game will not be made up.

Georgia returns to Athens to host the Georgia Classic next weekend at Jack Turner Stadium. The Bulldogs welcome No.21/17 Virginia Tech, Radford, and Dartmouth to Athens. Georgia takes on the Hokies Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Video Highlights

Box Score

Video/Transcript: Mike White’s Postgame Presser – Georgia vs. Florida

“We’ve got to guard a lot better. We’ve got to make simpler decisions with the basketball. We did some stuff today that you could say is out of character, but when you’re saying that as often as we’re saying it, unfortunately that is our character right now. Again, some of the live ball turnovers, some of the other turnovers, ill-advised fouls, getting out of a stance and not understanding that a screen is coming and dying on screen and giving up a big 3-pointer, those things add up and you can’t win in this league unless you’re more accountable and disciplined than that. Unfortunately, throughout this losing streak, we’ve spent a lot of time focused on those things. We didn’t see as much carry over as we’d like to see. I mean we just gave up 88 at home, when I feel like in practice, we’ve gotten a lot better defensively here in the past couple of weeks. It’s unfortunate. And I’m sitting here for 10 minutes talking about us, but Florida is a NCAA tournament team. They’re really good, they’re doing a great job. They share it, they’re long, they’re skilled, they’re incredible on the offensive glass. They got stops and forced turnovers when they needed to.”

On the team’s overall turnover rate and Russel Tchewa’s five turnovers from the high-post…

“We are going to work on those things on Monday. He has some reads. Sometimes we make emotional decisions as young people to where we know this is the action, this is the read, these are my checks, but I am going to call an audible. Some of us do that and it happens too often right now. It’s been harped on a bunch and will continue to be harped on.”

On Dylan James’ injury and why he did not return to the game…

“He got poked in the eye and then other guys got into a rhythm and before you know he’s been sitting over there for a while. We probably should have called his number in the second half in retrospect. He has practiced really well lately and we will continue to try to get him experience.”

On the scoring drought in the second half…

“I think that the road team, when they can collect some turnovers, get out in transition, and get some easy ones, generally speaking, sometimes that fuels you a little bit, defensively. I thought [Florida’s] Pullin did a great job defensively in the second half staying in front of our guards, but again you take 10, you can take some of the empty possessions – an open three, a good look, a free throw didn’t go – we can’t control all of that. We’re going to continue to preach here that you can win games despite that, but the other 10 possessions – the turnovers – it’s easier to control some of those. You get six or seven of those back, instead of 82 you probably have 90. We still gave up too many.”

On his confidence in having everything he needs here to build his program…

“Absolutely. We’re going to get it done here, and we’re going to be prepared on Wednesday. We’re going to have a great practice on Monday. I wish we could go practice in an hour. I would like to go get a bite, some more caffeine, and get right back to it. But unfortunately, we have to wait until Monday. But again I am super appreciative, and I’m super disappointed – and I don’t talk, I haven’t done this much in my career – but I was really impressed. Mid-second half, we go on a little run. It’s really, really loud in there. As loud as I’ve ever heard in like a couple games this year, which is as loud as I’ve ever heard it in this building. And you look up, and at one point I looked around at the entire arena, whether it was full or almost full, and I said, ‘My gosh, this is full, and we’ve struggled lately.’ I don’t want to repeat our losing streak again right here, and you guys are probably going to write that. But the fact that, despite us losing the way that we are losing, and the environment that we just got, it is exciting, and I’m disappointed for our fans. I’m more disappointed for our guys because they are the ones putting in the work everyday, and I really look forward to getting back to it on Monday.”

WBB: Georgia (11-13, 2-9 SEC) vs. South Carolina (24-0, 11-0 SEC) today in Columbia

Georgia (11-13, 2-9 SEC) at South Carolina (24-0, 11-0 SEC)

Sunday, Feb. 18 || 1 p.m. ET || Colonial Life Arena || Columbia, S.C. || ABC

TV: ABC (Pam Ward, Stefanie White and Holly Rowe)

Listen: Jeff Dantzler (GeorgiaDogs.com, 960 AM The Ref or 103.7 FM)

Opening Tip

» Georgia travels to Columbia, S.C., to take on the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks in front of a national television audience at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on ABC. 

» The Lady Bulldogs and Gamecocks will be featured on ESPN’s College GameDay at noon ET Sunday. This is Georgia’s first appearance on College GameDay. 

» Georgia is no stranger to the “spotlight.” Last season, Georgia’s NCAA tournament game against Iowa was the most watched NCAA first or second round game in history. On Jan. 5, 1991, Georgia took part in the first-ever network broadcast of a women’s basketball regular season game. CBS aired the inaugural Big Ten-SEC Challenge in Iowa City, where Georgia played Iowa and Auburn played Purdue. 

» This year’s Georgia team is led by fifth-year senior Javyn Nicholson, who is second in the SEC with 12 double-doubles this year. Nicholson has scored in double figures in 23 of 24 contests. 

» Junior guard De’Mauri Flournoy has scored in double figures in seven-straight games and is averaging 14.3 ppg over that span. 

» Fifth-year senior guard Taniyah Thompson has seen increased minutes since the season-ending injury to Zoesha Smith. Thompson was averaging 12.1 minutes per game before the injury and has increased that to 26.7 since the injury. 

» Georgia is in its second season under the leadership of Coach ABE. ABE’s successful first year included a NCAA tournament appearance, 22 wins, and a fifth-place finish in the final SEC standings. 

» The Lady Bulldogs were the only SEC squad to not have a single player enter the transfer portal this past offseason. 

»  Coach ABE’s teams have won 20 or more games in 11-straight seasons, while her 12 NCAA tournament appearances rank third among active SEC coaches, only behind

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