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BSB: Dawgs Take LSU Series Opener

The No. 5-ranked Georgia Bulldogs defeated the LSU Tigers, 11-8, to take Friday’s series opener at Foley Field.

Fast Facts 

• Junior Joey Volchko started on the mound for the Bulldogs and pitched for 3.1 innings, allowing seven runs off seven hits. Justin Byrd (3-2) earned his third win for the Georgia, with three innings pitched in relief. LSU’s Deven Sheerin (3-2) received the loss.
• Georgia put its first run on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a solo homer from junior Daniel Jackson, his team-leading 24th of the season.
• In the same inning, a bases loaded walk to senior Brennan Hudson brought in Michael O’Shaughnessy for his 39th RBI of the season.
• Junior right-hander Zach Brown relieved Volchko in the top of the fourth inning, making this his 14th appearance on the mound. He provided 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and two walks with 3 strikeouts. 
• The Bulldogs trimmed a 7-3 deficit with back-to-back home runs from Kolby Branch and Ryan Black, resulting in a total of three runs at the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at seven. This marks the 11th time Georgia has hit back-to-back home runs this year.
• Junior Tre Phelps secured Georgia’s lead with a three-run home-run in the seventh, marking his 18th long ball of the season as the Bulldogs lead the nation with 135 home runs.

Key Quotes

Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Wes Johnson

On close games…

“I try to put in our players’ heads the importance of never panicking. The importance of just playing the game. Our game is so different from other sports, and you just have to grind it out. You have to continue to take your at bats, you can’t lose focus, and you can’t get so caught up in the scoreboard that it causes panic. I think it helps when we’re older, we have an older team, and we try to stay calm and continue to stay in our approach and play the game.”

#1 Tre Phelps I Jr. I INF

On the belief of the team in the win…

“It’s crazy. I looked at Brennan Hudson after the third or fourth inning and said, ‘It’s our turn to go score.’ It’s a testament to how good we are. We’re able to flip that switch when we have to and put together some good things.”

#16 Zach Brown I Jr. I RHP

On his improvements from last season…

“Truly the confidence side of things, just knowing I belong in this league. It was tough, I should’ve been here at this point last year, but it’s really just being here this whole year. J.T. Quinn was my roommate last year, he dominated the last month of the season, so I’ve been trying to follow in their footsteps. They did everything right and I’m trying to keep up with those guys because that’s what they do.”

Up Next

The series will continue Saturday with first pitch set for 7 p.m. as the Bulldogs are now 39-11 overall and 19-6 in the SEC.  The game will be available on SEC Network and the Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network.

WTEN: Georgia Defeats UCLA, NCAA Championships Next

The top-seeded Georgia women’s tennis team (21-5) punched its ticket to the NCAA Championships after defeating No. 18 UCLA (18-8), 4-1, in the NCAA Super Regional at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Friday.

Fast Facts

• The Bulldogs have now advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships for a fourth-consecutive season.
• The Bulldogs secured their 107th NCAA Tournament win all-time.
• Georgia extends its home winning streak to 21 matches.
• Georgia now leads the all-time series against UCLA Bruins women’s tennis, 9-5.
• Georgia secured the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Georgia’s No. 19 pair Anastasiia Lopata and Patricija Paukstyte defeated UCLA’s No. 24 duo 6-3 on court one.
• Emma Dong and Anastasiia Gureva clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 victory on court three, marking Georgia’s third straight match winning the doubles point.
• No. 81 Sofia Rojas gave the Bulldogs their second point of the afternoon, cruising past UCLA’s Ahmani Guichard 6-0, 7-5 on court six.
• No. 64 Deniz Dilek extended Georgia’s lead to 3-0 with a straight-set 6-4, 6-3 win over Kate Fakih on court three.
• UCLA got on the board after Bianca Fernandez defeated No. 61 Gureva 7-5, 6-4 on court four.
• No. 93 Dong clinched the match for Georgia with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Olivia Center on court five, sending the Bulldogs to the NCAA Championships.

Results

Doubles:

1. #19 Anastasiia Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) def. #24 Olivia Center/Kate Fakih (UCLA): 6-3

2. #4 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert (UGA) vs. #64 Mayu Crossley/Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA): 5-3, unfinished 

3. Emma Dong/Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) vs. Kayla Chung/Ahmani Guichard (UCLA): 6-2

Singles:

1. #19 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) vs. #15 Anne-Ch Lutkemeyer (UCLA): 6-3, 6-6, unfinished

2. #7 Aysegul Mert (UGA) vs. #34 Mayu Crossley (UCLA): 4-6, 4-5, unfinished

3. #64 Deniz Dilek (UGA) def. Kate Fakih (UCLA): 6-4, 6-3

4. Bianca Fernandez (UCLA) def. #61 Anastasiia Gureva (UGA): 7-5, 6-4

5. #93 Emma Dong (UGA) def. Olivia Center (UCLA): 7-5, 6-2

6. #81 Sofia Rojas (UGA) def. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA): 6-0, 7-5

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

Key Quotes:

Head Coach Drake Bernstein

On going up early in doubles…

“Court three actually went down 2-0, and they built some momentum for themselves, and I think that’s one of those things you look for in the postseason, how are you responding? On courts one and two, we had a lot of deuce points and just great composure throughout, so definitely proud of those doubles and the details there.”

Up Next

Georgia will welcome the winners of the super regionals — the remaining eight men’s and women’s teams — as host of the final rounds of the NCAA Championships from May 14-17 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Bulldogs will face the winner of No. 8 seed NC State Wolfpack women’s tennis and No. 9 seed Texas Longhorns women’s tennis, with the match date and time to be announced.

Ticket Information

Tickets for the NCAA Championship 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). 

SB: Dawgs Fall to Texas in SEC Tournament

The No. 13-ranked (9-seed) Georgia Bulldogs fell in the semifinals of the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament to the No. 6 (4-seed) Texas Longhorns on Friday night at John Cropp Stadium, 5-4. Georgia stands at 38-18 entering NCAA postseason play.

SOFTBALL | vs. No. 6 (4-seed) Texas | L, 4-5
Winning Pitcher: Citaly Gutierrez (8-3)
Losing Pitcher: Presley Harrison (4-1)

Fast Facts:

• LHP Randi Roelling made the start in the circle going 4.2 innings with three hits, two earned runs and three strikeouts. RHP Presley Harrison closed the game in the loss with six hits, two earned runs and a strikeout.
• Texas opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run homer and a solo shot.
• The Bulldogs plated four runs in the fifth inning from a lead-off homer from Tyler Ellison and RBI hits from Natalie Ray, Keirstin Roose and Jaydyn Goodwin.
• The Longhorns tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single to left field before a walk-off RBI single in the seventh.
• Georgia falls to 3-4 all-time against Texas.

Key Quotes:
Georgia Head Coach Tony Baldwin
Opening Statement
“I just want to thank the University of Kentucky, Jerry Hammond and the SEC office, and all the people associated with putting together this event. Having done it last year, I know that there’s a lot of people involved in making this happen and make it go as smoothly as it does with all of the different factors that play in. This week has been exceptional in terms of the host and all they’ve provided Hats off to a job well done to all of those people. Congrats to Texas. They really fought, and they took what was a pretty good punch and the comeback from us. I would say from that standpoint, it stings a little bit on our side. Back-to-back games with those guys that have come right down to the end. While the outcome is disappointing for our group, at the end of the day, I could not be more proud of our players and our program. I’m incredibly blessed to represent this university and all of the people that it represents. Just really proud of the way that we put together the game.”

On the result…
“Tonight, I think probably when you look at it in the big picture, was decided by the defense. Some by the plays that we didn’t make and certainly some of the plays that they made. I thought [Jaycie] Nichols was outstanding at third base. [Ashton] Maloney made a pretty incredible throw there to knock us down at the plate. I thought Randi [Roelling] gave us a great start. I thought Presley [Harrison] was competing her tail off. I thought we had some big at-bats and really proud of the answer back there in whatever inning that was, the fourth inning maybe. We’ll lick our wounds from this one. We’ll get back home and be anxious for Sunday night and the selection show. Then, we’ll be ready to get back after whatever that provides for us next weekend.”

#4 Tyler Ellison | Sr. | UTL
On what the team takes away from this week…
“I feel like although this loss does kind of sting, from a big picture perspective, I feel like I’m proud of us and just how we competed this week. I think that we proved to ourselves that we can compete, and we can go win bowl games. We can hang with anybody out there. I feel like our team is just going to hold on to that part of this week and just use it as momentum for all the games we have going forward. Just never having any doubt in ourselves because we can really hang with anyone and beat anybody out there.”

Up Next:
Georgia turns its attention to Sunday’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show which will air live on ESPN2 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

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