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SB: No. 7/6 Georgia defeated Jacksonville State, 8-6, and Furman, 7-0, to close play of the Bulldog Classic

Georgia notches its 20^th win, improving to 20-3 on the season.

No. 7/6 Georgia 8, Jacksonville State 6

Ellie Armistead was a bight spot for the offense in game one, going 3-for-3 including a home run with two RBI and two runs scored. Sara Mosley and Jaydyn Goodwin each provided three-RBI hits in the game.

Shelby Walters (5-1) pitched four innings in her victory, allowing three runs on five hits. Destin Howard worked one and two-third innings, and Riley Orcutt pitched one-third out of the pen. Madison Kerpics earned her first save, pitching the seventh inning.

JSU (9-15) pushed across a run on a two-out infield single in the opening frame to go up 1-0.

Georgia loaded the bases with two out in the bottom of the second. Mosley doubled to left center to clear the bases and put Georgia in front 3-1.

The Gamecocks responded with two runs in the top of the third to tie the game at 3-all.

Goodwin launched a three-run home run off the top of the videoboard in right field in the bottom of the third to put Georgia back in front 6-3.

Armistead extended the Dogs’ lead in the fifth with a two-run home run to dead center field.

Jacksonville State took advantage of a Georgia miscue in the top of the sixth to plate three unearned runs, cutting Georgia’s lead to 8-6.

Kerpics entered in the seventh and slammed on the door on the Gamecocks to pick up the save.

No. 7/6 Georgia 7, Furman 0

Madison Kercpis (7-1) and Rachel Gibson combined to shut out the Furman Paladins (10-13) in the second game of the twin bill, allowing just two hits. Kerpics struck out four while Gibson fanned a career-best six hitters. Gibson picked up a three-inning save, the first save of her career.

Lyndi Rae Davis and Jayda Kearney each had two hits and left the yard. Georgia used 16 position players and offensive players in the game.

Davis led off the bottom of the first with her sixth home run. Following a four-pitch walk to Mosley, Kearney launched her 10^th home run over the wall in right to go up 3-0.

✌️ more W’s on a sun-splashed day at The Jack#Team28 | #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/PMKIyE6fRF

— Georgia Softball (@UGASoftball) March 11, 2024

Singles to left by Davis and Kearney, and an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Sydney Kuma plated three more runs for the Bulldogs in the second, widening the lead to 6-0.

Georgia added a run on an RBI groundout by Goodwin in the third, 7-0.

Gibson entered the pitch in the top of the fifth and held the Paladins hitless and scoreless en route to the three-inning save and the Bulldog win. 

Georgia hosts Georgia Tech in a rivalry midweek matchup at Jack Turner Stadium on Wednesday. First pitch between the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets is set for 6 p.m. It’ll be a Red Out on Wednesday. The first 250 fans will receive a red shirt.

Head Coach Tony Baldwin

On today’s performances…

“I thought we competed. I thought we put together a lot of good at-bats. I’m really proud of Destin [Howard]. I thought she threw the ball really well in that first game. Was just getting some soft, kind of weird contacts. It didn’t end up working out outcome-wise, as well as she threw the ball, but I’m really proud of her. Riley [Orcutt] came in and threw the ball well, and Rachel [Gibson] here on the back end. Madi [Kerpics] gave a real good start here in the second game. All in all, it was a really good day. It was really fun to have the sun out and play in the sun a little bit – just playing good softball. We got through the tournament season. We’re 20-3 and feel pretty good about where we are at, and we’re looking forward to just tackling one game a day for little while.”

On the upcoming games this week…

“Obviously, it’s a big week. Anytime you have Georgia Tech, it’s a big week. Last time they were here, they got to celebrate more than we did. We’ll be ready to compete. They have a good team, and they’re on a winning streak, so I know they’ll be coming in ready to play. We look forward to the competition. And obviously, a big weekend with Alabama coming to town and starting conference play this weekend. It’s a big week. We will need all of Bulldog Nation out here to help us get after it.”

BSB: Georgia beat Northern Colorado 11-1 in a seven-inning run-rule Sunday to improve to 16-1

The only team to top the 2024 Bulldogs, now in their first year under Ike Cousins head baseball coach Wes Johnson, would be the 1908 Southern Champions. The 1908 squad went 20-2, and the two losses were to professional teams. The 1992, 2009 and 2019 Georgia squads were 15-2 after 17 games.

Sophomore left-hander Jarvis Evans and the Bulldogs escaped a bases-loaded, nobody out jam in the first. Evans fielded a grounder from cleanup hitter Caden Wagner and fired home to Henry Hunter who stepped on the plate and threw to first baseman Fernando Gonzalez to complete a double play. Then, Evans got Austin Bunn to pop out to end the threat.

Georgia produced another early outburst to take control of the contest, scoring seven runs in the second inning. A bases-loaded walk to Dillon Carter got the inning going. For Carter, it was his team-leading 17^th free pass. Charlie Condon (3-for-4, 2 RBI) made it 3-0 with a two-run double. After Dylan Goldstein reached to load the bases, Gonzalez cranked his second career grand slam for a 7-0 advantage. It marked Georgia’s sixth grand slam this week by five different players. That tally already ranks third best in a single season in school history. Georgia’s grand slam record for a season is eight set by the 2019 squad.

“It’s been crazy,” said Gonzalez of the Bulldog grand slams. “People always say that hitting is contagious, and I think that’s one of the biggest things. When you get hot and know you can do it, you get up there and believe. Coach Johnson preaches that a lot. Get up there and believe.”

The Bears and Bulldogs each scored a run in the third to make it 8-1. The Bulldogs added two in the sixth and one in the seventh to cap a four-game series sweep. As part of a planned staff outing, Evans notched a win to improve to 2-0. He went three innings with three strikeouts while Zach Harris, Max DeJong, Luke Wiltrakis and James Hays combined for four innings of scoreless and hitless relief.

“Our guys know it’s good for momentum as far as our start, but there’s a lot of teams that have really good non-conference records and do not make the tournament, said Johnson. “We all know you got to play good starting Friday, and you have to play good when it really starts to count. First, we’ll prepare for Iowa, a good team coming in Tuesday, and then we’ll focus on the start of SEC play when we go to Kentucky.”

The Bulldogs hit two more home runs Sunday to raise their NCAA-leading total to 48 this season. Gonzalez’s grand slam was his fourth home run this season and the second grand slam of his career. Goldstein smacked his sixth home run, a solo shot in the sixth inning.

Georgia returns to action Tuesday when it plays host to Iowa. First pitch will be at 5:02 p.m. The game will be available on SECN+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

WTEN: No. 10 Georgia capped off its five-match road trip with a comeback 4-2 victory over No. 22 South Carolina

Despite trailing for the first time in seven matches, the No. 10 Georgia women’s tennis team capped off its five-match road trip with a comeback 4-2 victory over No. 22 South Carolina at the Carolina Tennis Center on Sunday.

The victory extends the Bulldogs’ (9-3, 4-0 SEC) winning streak to seven matches, now going 2-0 against the Gamecocks (9-4, 1-3 SEC) this season while improving to 54-17 all-time against South Carolina.

Opening with double play, Georgia dropped the doubles decision for the first time in seven matches.

The No. 34 tandem of Mai Nirundorn and Guillermina Grant struck first with a dominant 6-0 victory over Shahar Biran and Elise Mills (SCAR) on court two.

Courts one and three were tight from start to finish, but the Gamecocks would prevail on both courts to take the doubles point.

Trailing as they headed into singles play, the back end of the lineup came up big and served as the spark once again for the Bulldogs this weekend.

On court six, No. 78 Nirundorn returned to the lineup and capped off a perfect solo day of competition as she blanked her opponent Olympe Lancelot (SCAR) 6-0, 6-0. The Bangkok, Thailand-native won 18 games of singles and doubles without dropping a single set on the day.

After a South Carolina win on court two to lead 2-1, Georgia leveled the score within minutes as No. 98 Anastasiia Lopata came back from trailing 4-0 in the first set to win 12 straight games and knock off Misa Malkin (SCAR), 6-4, 6-0 on court four.

Action continued across the remaining three courts before No. 68 Mell Reasco pieced together a hard-fought 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over #125 Biran (SCAR) to hand the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead.

“I’m really proud of Mell coming up big for us when we needed her point today,” said Bernstein. “She was very composed and committed to herself through the ends of both sets today. Mai was also an obvious highlight, winning 6-0 in doubles and 6-0, 6-0 in singles, setting a strong tone for us twice during the day.”

With both courts one and five deep into the third set, it was Grant once again to deliver the clincher as she came back to defeat Mills (SCAR) 6(8)-7, 6-3, 6-3, earning the Red and Black the win to remain undefeated in SEC play.

“This was one of those days where our team really helped each other out with momentum after dropping a tight doubles point. After a long stretch on the road, we are eager to get back to Athens and play on our home courts again on Friday,” said Bernstein.

Georgia will now return back to Athens and prepare for its conference home opener where it will host No. 13 Texas A&M on Friday, March 15 at 5 p.m. ET followed by No. 34 LSU on Sunday, March 17 at 1 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

No. 10 GEORGIA vs No. 13 TEXAS A&M

Date: Friday, March 15

Time: 5 p.m. ET

Location: Athens, Ga.

Venue: Dan Magill Tennis Complex

Live Video/Scoring: https://gado.gs/9y9

No. 10 GEORGIA vs No. 34 LSU

Date: Sunday, March 17

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: Athens, Ga.

Venue: Dan Magill Tennis Complex

Live Video/Scoring: https://gado.gs/9y9

Singles Results

No. 8 Ayana Akli (SCAR) vs. No. 29 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA), 1-6, 7-6(2), 1-5 (unfinished)

No. 10 Sarah Hamner (SCAR) def. No. 25 Alexandra Vecic (UGA), 6-2, 6-2

No. 68 Mell Reasco (UGA) def. No. 125 Shahar Biran (SCAR), 7-6(3), 6-3

No. 98 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. Misa Malkin (SCAR), 6-4, 6-0

Guillermina Grant (UGA) def. Elise Mills (SCAR), 6(8)-7, 6-3, 6-3

No. 78 Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Olympe Lancelot (SCAR), 6-0, 6-0

Doubles Results

No. 41 Ayana Akli/Sarah Hamner (SCAR) def. No. 8 Aysegul Mert/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA), 7-6(3)

No. 34 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Shahar Biran/Elise Mills (SCAR), 6-0

Olympe Lancelot/Misa Malkin (SCAR) def. Alexandra Vecic/Mell Reasco (UGA), 7-5 

Match Notes

No. 10 Georgia (9-3, 4-0 SEC)

No. 22 South Carolina (9-4, 1-3 SEC)

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,2,4,3,5)

WGOLF: Bailey Tardy fired a final-round 65 on Saturday en route to capturing her first LPGA victory – the Blue Bay LPGA

Former Georgia Bulldog Bailey Tardy fired a final-round 65 on Saturday en route to capturing her first LPGA victory – the Blue Bay LPGA at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course.

Tardy, who played for Georgia from 2015-19, entered the final round tied with Lydia Ko and Sarah Schmelzel at 12-under before closing with her low round of the week, 7-under, to win by four strokes. 

“Lot of emotion right now,” Tardy said. “There’s a lot of hard work and just a lot of doubt that was in my head that I could be at this level and win. This is special.”

Tardy seized control midway through the final round. After opening the day with seven pars, she sank a 51-foot eagle putt at No. 8. That sparked her covering her final 10 holes at 7-under. Tardy birdied No. 9 but gave that stroke back with her lone bogey of the day at No. 10. She notched birdies at No. 11, No. 12, No. 13, No. 15 and No. 17 before a short par putt to clinch the victory.

“My caddie said to enjoy the walk and I said ‘Not yet. Just not yet.’” Tardy said. “I’m really excited and this one definitely means a lot.

“My ball striking was pretty good all day long and I made a lot of good approach shots on the back nine,” Tardy added. “That really put me in a position to score the way I did today.”

Tardy was the 2016 SEC Freshman of the Year and a two-time All-American for the Bulldogs. She captured a pair of individual titles, winning the 2015 Windy City Collegiate and the 2016 NCAA Bryan Regional, and helped Georgia win 10 team titles over four seasons. Tardy owns two of the top-10 season stroke averages in school history.

Tardy is in her second season on the LPGA Tour. She finished fourth at the U.S. Women’s Open last year, the highlight of her rookie season. 

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