The Georgia softball team continues to roll through the UCF Wilson/DeMarini Tournament as they notched wins number 22 and 23 on the year, knocking off Delaware State and UCF on Saturday. The victories mark the Bulldogs’ 11th win in a row to improve to 23-3 on the season.
Senior Maeve McGuire proved clutch on the second day of the tournament. Her first home run of the year, a solo shot with two outs, sealed a seventh-inning 6-5 victory over UCF for the Lady Diamond Dogs. The first game on the day versus Delaware State was filled with less drama as Georgia handled the Hornets 11-0 in five innings.
The bats got hot early in game one and didn’t let up against Delaware State, as Georgia finished with 14 hits. Sydni Emanuel went 4-for-4 on the day, tying her career high she set last season against Stephen F. Austin, to go with three runs scored. Ciara Bryan added a team-high four RBI, giving her a new personal best in her early career.
Mary Wilson Avant (5-2) tabbed the win, going the first three innings with two hits and four strikeouts in 11 batters faced. Amanda Ablan finished the game, giving up two hits while collecting a pair of strikeouts.
CLICK HERE for the box score and final results from the Georgia softball team’s game versus Delaware State.
In the second game, Georgia quickly jumped ahead 3-0 in the first inning. An RBI single from Alyssa DiCarlo along with a two-RBI double by McGuire had the Bulldogs with the early advantage. UCF tied it up at 3 each after three innings with a two-run home run in the second while an error put a Knight in scoring position for a RBI groundout in the third.
The Bulldogs climbed back ahead 4-3 with a RBI single from S. Emanuel in the sixth. UCF immediately got to work in the bottom frame, as the leadoff hitter got to second from a hit and stolen base before scoring on a double in the next at-bat. A wild pitch then let a run come in to put UCF ahead 5-4.
Georgia rallied back in the seventh with DiCarlo opening the inning with a double before Tyra Holliday came in to run. Holliday stole third before scoring on a Lacey Sumerlin sacrifice fly. McGuire then hit a two-out solo home run to put Georgia back ahead for good, 6-5.
Avant earned her second win of the day, coming out of the bullpen to pitch four frames with four hits and two runs allowed. The freshman also struck out three while walking one.
Georgia finishes out the tournament in Orlando on Sunday with an early morning rematch versus Delaware State at 9:30 a.m. ET. After Deleware State, the Lady Bulldogs will be back in Georgia to face the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 15th for an evening contest at 6:00 p.m. ET.