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BB: Georgia Clinches Missouri Series 13-3 in Eight

The No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs defeated Missouri, 13-3, in eight innings to clinch another SEC series Saturday at Foley Field.

Fast Facts

• Junior right-hander Dylan Vigue (4-1) got the start on the mound in a planned staff outing for Georgia. He held Missouri scoreless through three innings, allowing six hits and striking out three. He was scratched from his last start at Ole Miss last week after pitching just two innings against Arkansas a couple of weeks ago and left the game with a cramp.
• Georgia opened scoring in the bottom of the second inning, plating two runs off of a double by junior Ryan Wynn (4-5).
• In the bottom of the third Junior Tre Phelps hit the 38th home run of his career, extending the Bulldogs’ lead to 3-0.
• Junior Justin Byrd tossed the final five innings, allowing three runs off four hits with a  career high nine strikeouts for his fifth save.
• Missouri cut into the deficit with a home run in the fifth inning and added another in the sixth.
• Wynn hit his third double of the game in the bottom of the sixth, bringing home sophomore Kenny Ishikawa.
• Phelps was hit by a pitch for the 28th time this season, tying the all-time Georgia record also held by Corey Collins in 2024.
• The Bulldogs added to their lead in the seventh, plating five runs, highlighted by senior Kolby Branch’s 14th home run of the season and the 50th of his career.
• The SEC-leading Bulldogs (37-11, 17-6 SEC) have won seven of their eight SEC series now after today’s victory.

Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Wes Johnson

On what he saw in Ryan Wynn when he transferred from Wofford…

“We knew [Wynn] was a good shortstop. We obviously didn’t know if we were going to get [Kolby] Branch back. But we also felt like even if we did get Wynn, we could play him at second. We could play him at third. We’d be playing him in the outfield if we had to. I think one of the things you see from Ryan is, when the matchup is screaming to play him, and we put him in the game like it was today, it doesn’t matter that he hadn’t played in a day or two, he’s coming in there with a great attitude, a great mindset, a lot of energy.” 


#27 Dylan Vigue | Jr. | RHP

On his return following forearm cramping at Arkansas two weeks ago…

“Health first. Obviously, I want to stay out there, but Wes (Johnson) is out there telling me we have much bigger games coming up and those are the games we’re going to need me for. I’m glad he took me out because at the time we didn’t know what it was and I’m glad it was nothing but I’m just trusting in him. Today, I felt pretty good and was ramping back up after not pitching in a while.”


#0 Ryan Wynn | Jr. | INF

On his approach at the plate today…

“I’m really just trying to stay in the middle of the field and make sure I’m not trying to blow up balls. I feel like the past few games I’ve been rolling over a little bit, so just getting my direction back towards the center of the field really helped a lot.”
 
Up Next

No. 5 Georgia (37-11, 17-6 SEC) and Missouri will meet Sunday afternoon for the final game of the series, with first pitch set for noon. The game will be available on SEC Network and the Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network. 

SB: Georgia Run Rules Florida, Takes Series

Freshman Gabi Novickas’ walk-off grand slam gave the No. 14 Georgia Bulldogs a 9-1, five-inning, run-rule win over No. 8 Florida on Saturday afternoon in their home finale at Jack Turner Stadium to clinch the series. Georgia improves to 36-17 (12-12) on the season, and the Gators move to 47-9 (17-7). 

SOFTBALL | vs. No. 8 Florida | W, 9-1 (5 inn.)
Winning Pitcher: Randi Roelling (16-9)
Losing Pitcher: Keagan Rothrock (26-6)

Fast Facts:

• Saturday’s game started out recognizing Georgia’s seven seniors and graduates. Keirstin Roose, Jaydyn Goodwin, Sarah Gordon, Tyler Ellison, Marisa Miller and Natalie Ray were each honored for their contributions to the Georgia softball program. 
• LHP Randi Roelling made the start on the mound going five innings with three hits, one earned run, two walks and five strikeouts for her 16^th win of the season.
• Florida scored its lone run in the top of the third frame to open the scoring. Georgia evened the score with an RBI single up the left line from Roose. 
• In the bottom of the fourth, Ellison and Gordon each drove runners in before junior Emily Digby lasered a two-run shot to left field to five the Bulldogs a 5-1 lead. 
• In the bottom of the fifth inning, freshman Gabi Novickas clobbered her second grand slam of the year to hand Georgia the walk-off, run-rule win.
• Today’s game marked the tenth highest single game attendance in program history, with a crowd of 2,280. 
• This was the Bulldog’s first at home series win against the Gators since 2018, and Georgia moves to 34-50 all-time against the Gators.

Key Quotes:
Georgia Head Coach Tony Baldwin
Opening Statement…
“I thought the crowd was just amazing and so supportive and gave our team such a boost. We played with just a great sense of urgency, competitiveness and joy. It starts with Randi [Roelling] in the circle. She reminds me of Christie Hamilton, who was that pitcher that kind of made Georgia Softball with her energy and competitiveness. Randi reminds me a lot of Christie. Then, I just thought we kept working our at-bats. That second time through the order, we made a lot of really good adjustments and really proud of the overall weekend. You get a series win against them. That’s our first one since 2018 in the regular season [at home]. You have got to go get it. They’re not going to give you very many of them. I’m just really proud of the way that we came out on senior day and competed and just played Georgia Softball.”

On yesterday’s win carrying into today…
“The message that we’ve been using a lot over the course of the season is taking in data and not damage. Keep learning the lessons without the emotional cost of the outcomes or failure. Yesterday, they embraced the fact that, ‘Hey, we went at it a little bit different,’ the back half of that game, in terms of our energy and our urgency. They carried that forward into today. I can do all the ‘rah-rah’ stuff that you want. At the end of the day, the players have to decide that they want to commit that. They certainly did. If we can keep that going, we’re going to be a handful as we finish things up.”

#32 Gabi Novickas| Fr. | 1B
On her last hit…
“It was so insane. My first two at-bats were just kind of working counts and just trying to get a good pitch to hit. Going into that last one, bases were loaded, we’re up by 5-1 at that point. I just want to get these runs in, so I’m working my hardest. Took a big hit on that pitch, and it paid off.” 

On the difference between today and yesterday…
“Yesterday, we had that big inning to open up the game. When we had that big inning, it just changed the momentum. We all just really worked together very well. Taking that into today, we knew we could do it. We wanted to do it for our seniors. Randi pitched great. Our defense was great. Everything clicked today.”

Up Next: 
No. 14 Georgia will now await SEC Tournament seeding for next week in Lexington, Kentucky.

WTEN: Dawgs Sweep Alabama State in Round One of NCAA Tournament

The No. 1 Georgia women’s tennis team (19-5, 12-3 SEC) opened its NCAA Tournament run in dominant fashion, sweeping Alabama State (11-10, 6-2 SWAC), 4-0, in the first round at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Saturday.

Fast Facts

• The Bulldogs secured their 105th NCAA Tournament win all-time, marking a 28th-consecutive season in which they have advanced past the NCAA Regional first round.
• Georgia now leads the all-time series 3-0 against Alabama State, winning all three meetings in the NCAA Regional first round (2019, 2024, 2026).
• Georgia extends its home winning streak to 18 matches.
• Georgia opened strong in doubles, securing the point with wins on courts three and one. Emma Dong and Anastasiia Gureva cruised to a 6-1 victory, followed by the No. 19 pair of Anastasiia Lopata and Patricija Paukstyte clinching the point, 6-2.
• In singles, the Bulldogs carried momentum across the lineup, earning three straight-set victories to clinch the match. No. 93 Dong was first off the court with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win, before No. 81 Sofia Rojas followed with a 6-3, 6-0 decision.
• Alexandra Vecic sealed the team victory on court five with a 6-1, 6-1 performance. The match marked Vecic’s first completed dual-match appearance since Feb. 1, 2025, at North Carolina, prior to injury.

Results
Doubles:
1. #19 Anastasiia Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) def. Diana Craciun/Melisa Mekic (ASU): 6-2
2. #4 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert (UGA) vs. Cleanne Pickel/Kesmat El Tawil (ASU): 5-2, unfinished
3. Emma Dong/Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) def. Rim Assanhaji/Jovana Petrovic (ASU):6-1

Singles:
1. #19 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) vs. Diana Craciun (ASU): 6-3, 5-0, unfinished
2. #61 Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) vs. Kesmat El Tawil (ASU): 7-6(4), 1-0, unfinished
3. #93 Emma Dong (UGA) def. Melisa Mekic (ASU): 6-0, 6-0
4. #81 Sofia Rojas (UGA) def. Senna Van Den Heuvel (ASU): 6-3, 6-0
5. Alexandra Vecic (UGA) def. Jovana Petrovic (ASU): 6-1, 6-1
6. Emily Deming (UGA) vs. Cleanne Pickel (ASU): 6-4, 2-4, unfinished

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

Key Quotes:
Head Coach Drake Bernstein
On today’s match…
“Great crowd here in Athens, as always. This time of year is always exciting, particularly when you’ve got the rest of the tournament in front of you here in Athens. Happy with the team and how we came out today, but I think we all agree that the story of the day was Alex [Vecic] and her path back to being able to be out here in this NCAA Tournament and clinch that match out there today. It was a special moment for the whole group and we’re really proud of her and the work she’s done to get back here.”

Senior Alexandra Vecic
On coming back from an injury and competing in singles today…
“It was extremely special. Big shoutout to Kaylee [Shaver] and Josie [Szlachetka]. They have worked really hard the last one and a half years through two surgeries. Just getting back on the court was incredibly special and playing next to teammates that feel like family and staff and coaches that feel like family. Just really the whole crowd. There were so many familiar faces. It was really special. It was one of the most special moments since I’ve been here.”

On clinching today’s match…
“It was just the perfect cherry on top. The whole match I just really enjoyed playing next to Sofia [Rojas], feeling the energy. I feel like there’s no other place like Dan Magill and clinching that match was just the cherry on top. It was really a perfect, happy ending today.”

Up Next
The Bulldogs will face No. 31 Charlotte in the NCAA Regional second round on Sunday, May 3 at 1 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The winner will advance to the NCAA Super Regionals held on May 8-9 in Athens, Ga.

Match 26 – No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 31 Charlotte
Date: Sunday, May 3, 2026
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Georgia
Site: Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Live Video/Stats: LINK HERE
Tournament Central Page: LINK HERE

Ticket Information
Tickets for this weekend’s matches are on sale online at Georgia Bulldogs | Online Ticket Office | Event Groups (evenue.net). Fans can also purchase tickets at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex beginning one hour prior to the start of the first match each day (based on availability). Tickets are $5.

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