Georgia will have two shots at Oklahoma State today (if necessary). As the only undefeated team in the double-elimination Athens Regional, a win in either game will clinch the title for the Dawgs. The first game will begin at 1 p.m.
Senior Tina Iosefa and freshman Lacey Sumerlin each homered and recorded two RBI to lead 16th-seeded Georgia (42-17) to a 5-2 win over Northwestern (27-27) on Saturday afternoon at Jack Turner Stadium.
With two RBI in the contest, Iosefa tied former Bulldog Alisa Goler for the school and SEC record with 83 RBI in a season.
Iosefa and Sumerlin both went deep in Georgia’s three-run second inning that gave the Bulldogs the upper hand in the contest. Senior Chelsea Wilkinson allowed only two hits in a complete game and surrendered just one earned run to the Wildcats. Georgia’s win puts it in position to advance to the Super Regional round with a victory on Sunday.
The Bulldogs claimed a 3-0 edge in the top of the second as Iosefa and Sumerlin each went yard in the frame. Iosefa opened the inning with a solo homer to right field for a 1-0 lead, and Sumerlin capped the inning with a two-out, two-run shot to left, scoring Katie Browne to give the Bulldogs the three-run cushion.
Georgia added on to the lead in the third, cashing in on back-to-back hits from Sydni and Cortni Emanuel to start off the inning and put two in scoring position with no outs. A sacrifice fly from Iosefa brought in Sydni to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead through three.
Sydni Emanuel pushed the advantage to five runs in the fourth with a two-out RBI single to score Maeve McGuire and claim a 5-0 lead at the game’s halfway point. Northwestern recorded its first base runner of the contest in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out single to center, though the runner was left stranded.
The Wildcats struck in the bottom of the seventh for two runs, taking advantage of a Georgia error and a two-run homer from Amy Letourneau, but they were unable to tie the game.
Good luck girls We’ll be watching.