The No. 9 Georgia softball team (15-1) returned home after being away on the road for the last two weekends, as the Bulldogs defeated Western Carolina and Jacksonville in the opening day of the Georgia Softball Classic.
 
 
The Bulldogs took the sweep with a 5-2 win over the Catamounts (12-6) while closing Friday with a 5-0 victory over Jacksonville (10-8).
 
 
Junior Maeve McGuire continues to be locked in at the plate, hitting .600 for the day with three hits. Six other Bulldogs joined the Illinois native with a multi-hit day. Senior Alex Hugo led the charge in runs scored with three in the two games.
 
 
[foogallery id=”78360″]  
 
Georgia’s pitching staff finished the games with a combined 22 strikeouts, led by freshman Kylie Bass’ 10 in her first complete-game effort. The trio held opponents to a .189 average.
 
 
Georgia returns to action on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET against No. 19 Minnesota followed by a bout with Austin Peay. All games are played at Jack Turner Stadium where admission is free while live stat links can be found at georgiadogs.com.
 
 
Game one—No. 9 Georgia 5, Western Carolina 2
 
 
After a defensive-fought battle on both sides, Georgia finally found its rhythm and defeated Western Carolina 5-2.
 
 
Chelsea Wilkinson (8-0) earned the win after going 5.2 frames with nine strikeouts. Brittany Gray came in from the bullpen during the sixth inning with bases loaded and two outs, taking the save. Hugo, Sydni Emanuel and Kaylee Puailoa all led in hits with two each.
 
 
The Bulldogs took the lead in the third after Hugo singled to left center and Puailoa drove her in from an up-the-middle single. Western Carolina quickly answered back in the fourth inning, as the Catamount’s Courtney Price hit a two-run homer over the right center wall, taking a 2-1 lead.
 
 
The Bulldogs regained the advantage in the bottom fifth and would keep it for the remainder of the game. Hugo started off the fifth inning with a double to right field, followed by a Puailoa single, pulling ahead 3-2. The Bulldogs would add two more runs in the sixth inning after a pair of errors from Western Carolina and a single from S. Emanuel.
 
 
Game two—No. 9 Georgia 5, Jacksonville 0
 
 
Georgia closed the night behind a solid performance from Bass in the circle, shutting out the Dolphins 5-0.
 
 
Bass (2-0) earned her first start tonight, pitching all seven innings and striking out 10 batters. The Georgia product allowed just three hits while walking a pair. McGuire and Tina Iosefa each tabbed two hits each while Alyssa DiCarlo and Cortni Emanuel punched in two RBI apiece.
 
 
After four-straight scoreless innings, the Bulldogs’ bats came alive. Puailoa led off the inning with a walk, followed by a double to left center from Iosefa. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, DiCarlo stepped up to the plate and drilled one up the middle, scoring both runners. C. Emanuel advanced DiCarlo to thi2rd with a sacrifice hit back to the pitcher, putting her in perfect position to score. Shortly after, McGuire connected with a single, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.
 
 
The Bulldogs added two more in the fifth inning, increasing their lead to 5-0. After S. Emanuel reached on a walk and Hugo on a hit by pitch, the Bulldogs loaded the bases after Iosefa walked, as C. Emanuel connected with a single, scoring both S. Emanuel and Hugo.