The 21st-ranked Georgia softball team dropped its home finale to No. 4 Alabama Sunday afternoon at Jack Turner Stadium, 6-3.
Four different Bulldogs combined for Georgia’s four hits Sunday. Freshman Payden Bordeau provided the big hit for the Bulldogs, hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning.
Freshman Britton Rogers (1-3) worked four complete innings in her start in the circle, allowing two earned runs in the loss. Fellow freshman Madison Kerpics worked an inning and a third and graduate Alley Cutting pitched the final 1.2 innings.
Bailey Hemphill led off the top of the third with a double to right. A hit and an error allowed her to score on the next play to put Alabama (39-7, 15-6) ahead 1-0.
Alabama loaded the bases in the top of the fourth with no out. A popup to second off the bat of Hemphill was deep enough to score the runner from third. A passed ball later in the inning allowed the Tide’s third run to score, 3-0.
Freshman Ellie Armistead picked up Georgia’s first hit of the afternoon with one-out single in the bottom of the fifth. Bordeau then made it a one-run ball game with a swing of the bat, hitting her third home run of the season to center, 3-2. It was only the fifth home run hit off Alabama’s Montana Fouts in SEC play this season.
A bases-loaded hit batsman and a pair of bases-loaded walks in the top of the sixth widened Alabama’s lead four, 6-2.
Georgia (29-17, 7-14) loaded the bases with no out in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore Sara Mosley hit into a 4-3 double play but junior Savana Sikes scored to make it 6-3.
Both teams came up empty in the seventh as the 6-3 tally stood.
Georgia will travel to Starkville, Mississippi next weekend for the final series of the regular season. Georgia and Mississippi State open the series Friday at 6 p.m., ET.
Head Coach Lu Harris-Champer
On what the team did well this weekend…
“Today, and all weekend, I thought Sydney Kuma and Ellie Armistead made some outstanding defensive plays up the middle. I’m really proud of Ellie [Armistead] for breaking up the no-hitter and Payden [Bordeau] to hit a two-run bomb to get us on the board. I thought Britton Rogers had a great start and gave us an opportunity to get that game today.”
On what she is going to take from this game for the rest of the season…
“We need to get tougher, we need to limit the free passes and get out there and continue to be gritty and fight for what we want.”
Freshman Payden Bordeau
On her approach to the plate when she hit the home run…
“My mindset was to go up there and slow everything down. Obviously, defense was not on my side this weekend. I didn’t try to let that affect my at-bat and to get something done to help the team out.”
On what the team is going to take away from this game…
“We’re going to fight a little bit harder, see what we did this weekend and build off from there, play for one another and try to get stronger.”