The No. 12 Georgia softball team (26-5, 1-2) hosts its SEC home opener this weekend, welcoming No. 4 Texas A&M (27-3, 2-1) to Athens for a three-game series beginning Friday.
Friday’s game begins at 6 p.m. ET with the first 300 fans to Jack Turner Stadium receiving a free T-shirt. Saturday will start at 2 p.m. with postgame autographs while an egg hunt will take place after Sunday’s 2 p.m. contest.
All regular-season home games have free admission while all three games will be broadcast on SEC Network+/WatchESPN. Links to the game as well as live stats can be found on georgiadogs.com.
GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Capitalizing on seven hits and three Eagle errors, Georgia shut out Georgia Southern in a run-rule 9-0 fashion on Wednesday.
Cortni Emanuel and Alyssa DiCarlo accounted for two hits each of Georgia’s total, as DiCarlo also scored twice and drove in a pair of runs. Tina Iosefa, Maeve McGuire and Lacey Sumerlin also collected two RBI apiece. Brittany Gray pitched well for the Bulldogs, striking out six while giving up three hits and a walk. She had a streak of sitting down seven-consecutive batters while an error allowed the only other baserunner for the Eagles.
LOOKING FOR 300TH SEC WIN
Georgia will look for the program’s 300th SEC win this weekend against Texas A&M. The Bulldogs hold 299 after winning one over the Gamecocks last weekend. All time, Georgia is 299-223 in league action with two regular-season titles and one tournament championship.
GEORGIA RECORDS PROGRAM’S 500TH HOME WIN
With the shutout win over Georgia Southern on Wednesday, Georgia secured its 500th home win in program history. The program started in 1997, as it now holds a home record of 500-139, good for a winning percentage of .782, while 376-78 since Jack Turner Stadium opened in 2004.
CORTNI NOTCHES 51ST HIT OF SEASON
With a 2-for-3 night at the plate against Georgia Southern, Cortni posted her 50th and 51st hit of the season, making her the first player in the SEC to eclipse 50 hits. Not far behind her is Tiffany Howard of Auburn with 49. Cortni along with three other players in Division I have 50 or more hits in the 2016 campaign.
IOSEFA BLASTS TEAM-BEST NINTH HOME RUN
Against Georgia Southern, Iosefa hit her ninth home run of the season, a number that leads the team while third in the SEC and 21st in the nation. The two-run shot over left field was also Iosefa’s 41st of her career, moving her up to a tie for eighth all-time in Georgia history with All-American Taylor Schlopy, who was the NPF’s Worth Home Run Champion this past season with 10 for the Akron Racers.
NCAA RELEASES FIRST RPI STANDINGS
The NCAA released its first RPI of the year, as Georgia comes in at No. 24. Georgia has faced 13 teams in the top 100, holding an 11-5 mark against them. Breaking that down, the Bulldogs are 3-4 against top 50 teams and 1-2 against top 20 foes. From the first release, Georgia has nine opponents remaining in the top 100, including this weekend’s matchup against No. 6 Texas A&M.
In all, every SEC team is in the top 75, including five in the top 10 with Florida (2), Texas A&M (6), Kentucky (7), Alabama (9) and Missouri (10).
HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA SOFTBALL:
For complete information on Georgia softball, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGASoftball on Twitter and Instagram and UGASoftball on Facebook.