The No. 8 Georgia softball team (13-1) closed out the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a pair of wins, taking a 5-4 comeback victory from Northwestern while defeating San Jose State 7-3 on Saturday.
In the pair of games, Cortni Emanuel hit .556 with five hits while Maeve McGuire collected four hits. Alex Hugo and Kaylee Puailoa each totaled a team-best three RBI. Chelsea Wilkinson and Brittany Gray took the ball in the circle, combining for 13 strikeouts.
After two weekends on the road, Georgia heads home next weekend, hosting the Bulldog Invitational beginning on Friday, March 4 against Western Carolina and Jacksonville.
Game One—Georgia 5, Northwestern 4
A seventh-inning rally gave Georgia an opening win, as the Bulldogs came back from two down to win 5-4 over Northwestern.
Wilkinson (7-0) came in for three innings of relief to take the win after giving up a lone home run and striking out two. Puailoa, Alyssa DiCarlo and C. Emanuel led the bats with two hits apiece.
Georgia held a 1-0 lead for 3.5 innings after Sydni Emanuel scored in the first off of a Puailoa RBI. Northwestern then took it over after scoring three runs in the fourth frame. A sacrifice fly to center brought it to a tie game before a single to right and error on a bunt allowed the other two scores.
The deficit lowered to 3-2 after Northwestern committed three errors to open the fifth. Samantha LaZear reached in the opening at-bat after a bobble at third base before advancing around the bases on the other two miscues to score. However, Northwestern brought it back to a two-run lead after leading off the bottom half with a home run.
A LaZear single started off the seventh followed by Tina Iosefa getting hit by pitch. Puailoa and DiCarlo started a two-out rally, as each tallied RBI singles to tie the game. Puailoa brought in the winning run on a wild pitch, propelling the Bulldogs ahead 5-4.
Game Two—Georgia 7, San Jose State 3
Two innings of scoring offense sealed the 7-3 win for Georgia over SJSU, closing out the Cali tournament 4-1.
Wilkinson again came in as relief to earn the win, going the final four frames with three hits and three runs allowed. The senior struck out four while walking one. At the plate, Maeve McGuire was untouchable, going 4-for-4 with a walk and RBI. C. Emanuel wasn’t far behind with three hits while Hugo added a team-best three RBI with a bases-clearing double in the third.
Back-to-back RBI from Puailoa and Iosefa pushed Georgia out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Then with two outs in the third, a McGuire single sent in a run while the junior, Katie Browne and LaZear scored on Hugo’s hit to right field.
The Spartans put up three runs in the fifth, including a leadoff home run, but couldn’t complete a comeback.