SOFTBALL: Georgia Comes Back To Beat Georgia Southern
Down three in the sixth, the 15th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs plated eight runs in the bottom of the inning to come back and defeat Georgia Southern 12-7 Wednesday evening at Jack Turner Stadium.
The victory is Georgia’s 30th of the season as the Bulldogs are now 30-5 in 2022.
Georgia’s offense scattered 15 hits in the contest, led by a three-hit performance from junior Sydney Kuma. Five other Bulldogs had two hits each. Junior Sara Mosley and sophomore Aniyah Black each drove in three runs. Mosley’s three-run home run in the sixth put Georgia ahead 9-7.
Sophomore Madison Kerpics worked two perfect innings with four strikeouts in her start in the circle. Britton Rogers (four runs, four hits) and Lauren Mathis (two runs, three hits) each saw time out of the pen. Freshman Kylie Macy (8-1) earned the victory, working two and a third innings, striking out four, and allowing one run on one hit.
The Bulldogs plated four runs in the opening frame. With two on and one out, three-straight RBI singles from Lacey Fincher, Jayda Kearney, and Kuma drove in three runs. A groundout from Black plated the fourth run of the first inning, 4-0 Georgia.
A five-run fourth inning for Georgia Southern (8-18) pushed the Eagles into the lead, 5-4.
Solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings widened the Georgia Southern lead to three, 7-4.
An eight-run sixth propelled the Bulldogs ahead of the Eagles. The scoring started when leadoff batter Kuma scored from first on a double off the bat of Black. Pinch hitter Savana Sikes then drove in Black on a single to center. Mosley stepped in and blasted a three-run home run to right-center, putting Georgia ahead 9-7. Fincher went back-to-back with Mosley, sending a solo shot off the video board in left. The scoring wasn’t done yet. Kearney’s second hit of the night was a single through the right side then she scored from first on a double to the wall by Kuma. Kuma then scored on a single through the left side from Black, her second RBI of the inning and third of the night. When it was all done, Georgia led 12-7.
Macy held the Eagles in the seventh to complete the comeback.
Georgia travels to Tuscaloosa for a three-game series at No. 4 Alabama this weekend. The series begins Saturday at 4:30 p.m., EDT, on ESPN2.
BASEBALL: Georgia/Florida Series Begins Tonight at Foley
The 23rd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (19-6, 3-3 SEC) play host to No. 16 Florida (18-7, 3-3 SEC) starting Thursday in an SEC series. First pitch will be at 8 pm (ESPN2) and available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. The series continues Friday at 6 pm (SECN+) and concludes Saturday with first pitch at 2 pm (SECN+). Saturday’s game will be the annual Baseball Lettermen’s Day recognition too.
This past Tuesday, Georgia defeated Ga. Southern 7-2 in Athens to claim the season series while Florida beat No. 5 FSU 6-3 in Jacksonville. Georgia dropped an SEC road series 2-1 at Kentucky this past weekend while the Gators lost a home series to No. 14 LSU 2-1. Georgia is batting .289 with 25 home runs while posting a 4.75 ERA and .974 fielding percentage. The Gators are batting .295 with 49 home runs and a 3.79 ERA and .980 fielding percentage.
The Florida series began in 1931, and the Gators hold a 189-97-2 advantage. The teams met in Jacksonville last November for a fall exhibition the night before the Georgia-Florida football game. Georgia won the exhibition 8-5 (and the football game 34-7). UF won the baseball series last year two games to one in Gainesville while the Bulldogs swept the Gators at Foley Field in 2019. In 2020, it was slated to be a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup to open the SEC season. The Bulldogs were on their way to Gainesville when they had to turn the bus around and return home due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The series and ultimately the rest of the college baseball season were canceled.
This series will feature two of the nation’s elite pitchers and premium 2022 MLB Draft prospects in Georgia junior right-hander Jonathan Cannon (5-1, 1.96 ERA, 41.1 IP, 43K, 1BB {intentional}) and Florida sophomore left-hander Hunter Barco (5-1, 1.41 ERA, 38. 1 IP, 52K, 5BB). The Bulldogs will keep Cannon in his normal Friday night spot in the SEC rotation. Redshirt sophomore Garrett Brown (0-0, 6.91 ERA) will get the Thursday night start for game one of the series. Georgia has not announced a starter for game three. Three of Georgia’s top starting options are sidelined. Junior RHP Dylan Ross and redshirt sophomore RHP Will Childers are now out for the season. Sophomore LHP Liam Sullivan is slated to return next week for the South Carolina series. UF has not announced its rotation for the series.
Georgia graduate CF Ben Anderson (.369-4-17, .518 OB%) has reached base safely in a team-high 23 consecutive games. He kept the streak alive Tuesday with a walk. Anderson led all SEC hitters this past week with a .529 average (9-for-17). Sophomore C/DH Corey Collins (.309-7-22, .420 OB%) saw his on base streak end this past Sunday at 21 games. On Tuesday, he began a new streak by going 1-for-2 with an HBP. Graduate SS Cole Tate (.368-1-11) missed the Kentucky series this past weekend due to a hip injury. He returned to action this past Tuesday, going 0-for-3 with an RBI. Entering the UK series, he was the team’s leading hitter and had started 24 games. Redshirt senior Josh McAllister (.296-3-19) started at shortstop versus UK. He has made starts at 2B-3B-SS and has played OF too. At least once every series, McAllister will make a highlight play. He has made SportsCenter Top Plays in his career.
Probable Pitching Matchup: UGA vs. UF
G26 Garrett Brown (0-0, 6.40, RHP, RSo.) vs. TBA
G27 Jonathan Cannon (5-1, 1.96, RHP, Jr.) vs. TBA
G28 TBA vs. TBA
WTENNIS: Georgia Sweeps Tech
The 10th-ranked University of Georgia women’s tennis team swept No. 28 Georgia Tech 4-0 Wednesday evening, in non-conference action.
In doubles, Georgia (10-3, 6-1 SEC) took two of three from Georgia Tech (11-5, 6-2 ACC). The freshmen duo and 47th-ranked pair of Mell Reasco and Dasha Vidmanova cruised to a victory, earning the first win of the day in doubles. After quickly jumping out to a 5-1 lead, the pair defeated No. 21 Kylie Bilchev and Ava Hrastar. In a Top-15 battle on court one, No. 12 graduate Morgan Coppoc and junior Ania Hertel fell to No. 9 Carol Lee and Kate Sharabura 6-3. With the doubles point coming down to court three, freshman Guillermina Grant and graduate Meg Kowalski overcame a 5-3, winning four straight games, to clinch the doubles point 7-5.
In singles play, the Bulldogs earned wins from No. 40 Vidmanova, No. 71 Kowalski, and No. 117 Hertel. Hertel secured the first win of the day for Georgia. After falling behind 2-1 in set one, she rallied to win 6-3, 6-1 over Gia Cohen. Vidmanova took care of business after a tight first set, cruising to a 7-5, 6-2 win over Ava Hrastar, while Kowalski clinched the match for the Bulldogs by taking down Kate Sharabura 6-4, 7-5.
Next up, the Bulldogs will travel to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Missouri Tigers Friday, April 1 at noon and trek to Fayetteville, Arkansas to face the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sunday, April 3 at 1 p.m.
WGOLF: Jenny Bae Opens Augusta National Women’s Amateur with 76
Georgia’s Jenny Bae carded a 4-over 76 in Wednesday’s first round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champion Retreats Golf Club. The senior from Suwanee, Ga., is tied for 39th in the competition featuring the world’s top 72 women’s amateurs.
Bae began the day with a bang, birdieing two of her first three holes and sharing a spot atop the individual leaderboard for much of the morning. Following a bogey at No. 8, she played the back side at 5-over.
“I started off really steady,” Bae said. “I was 2-under at one point. Coming towards the end, there was a little bit of wind and I struggled a little bit, but I think I put myself in a good position to come back tomorrow.”
The field will play a second-round at Champions Retreat on Thursday before the competition will be cut to 30 golfers. After all, entrants play a practice round at Augusta National on Friday, the top-30 will compete in the final round on Saturday on the same layout that will host the Masters next week.
“I’m going to try to go into tomorrow with no expectations,” Bae said. “That’s when I normally play the best., when I try to take it hole by hole and try to push myself to be the best I can.”
Jump To Comments