In Saturday’s action at the UGA Classic, #8 Georgia recorded a split in its two game. Georgia run-ruled Bowling Green, 10-2, in the first game then narrowly fell to Elon in the nightcap, 5-4.
Jordan Doggett had a great day at the plate, finishing 5-for-6 with four runs batted in for the Bulldogs. Freshman Savana Sikes picked up three hits and recorded five RBI.
“At the end of the day, we need to play the game from the first pitch,” associate head coach Tony Baldwin remarked after Saturday’s games. “I don’t know that we were locked in. I don’t think we did a good enough job as a team, both players and coaches, of getting ourselves shifted from the first game to the second game. Hats off to Elon, their players and coaches, on being ready to go. They gave us some tough looks and it took us a little while to make that adjustment. I’m proud of our fight at the end and I think if we start the game that way, we’re better off.”
#8 Georgia 10, Bowling Green 2 (6 inn.)
Georgia (22-3) began the day with a six-inning run ruling of Bowling Green (4-10). Doggett and Sikes each had two hits with three RBI to begin the day. Lacey Fincher drew three walks in the contest along with a double.
Kylie Bass (5-0) pitched Georgia’s third complete game of the tournament, working six innings and striking out a season-high nine batters.
Fincher led off the bottom of the second with a double off the wall in left then was bunted to third by Mahlena O’Neal. Sikes drove in Fincher with a base hit through the left side to put the Bulldogs on the board. Sikes came in to score with two outs on an infield single by CJ Landrum, making it a 2-0 game.
Alyssa DiCarlo launched her 57th career home run over the videoboard in left to widen the lead to 3-0 in the third. That home run put her in sole possession of second all-time at Georgia, one shy of tying Alisa Goler’s record of 58. Fincher followed with a walk then reached third on an error that also allowed O’Neal to reach. Doggett fouled out down the right field line, allowing Fincher to tag up and score. Sikes then drilled a two-run home run, her fifth home run of the season, to left center, bringing the Bulldog lead to 6-0 after three innings.
Bowling Green scored the first run off the Bulldogs on the weekend in the top of the fourth with a single run, 6-1. A two-out solo home run in top half of the fifth narrowed the Bulldog lead to 6-2.
Ciara Bryan began the scoring in the bottom of the sixth with her second home run of the tournament, a solo shot to left. With two on and two out, O’Neal drove in Justice Milz to make it 8-2 in Georgia’s favor. Doggett then delivered a two-RBI double to end the game in six innings, 10-2.
Elon 5, #8 Georgia 4
In the second tilt of the day, DiCarlo and Doggett each finished 3-for-3 at the plate. Sikes had two RBI in the contest.
In the circle, Alley Cutting (7-1) suffered her first loss, pitching three and a third innings in her start. She allowed three runs on five hits. Mary Wilson Avant closed the game for Georgia, pitching the final three innings, picking up five strikeouts in relief.
An RBI single in the top of the second put the Phoenix (13-7-1) on the board and in front of the Bulldogs, 1-0. The Phoenix extended their lead on the Bulldogs with a two-RBI single by Lauryn Clarke in the top of the fourth, 3-0 Elon.
Two unearned runs came in to score for the Phoenix on a two-RBI single by Clark, extending the lead to 5-0.
Georgia broke up the shutout in the bottom of the sixth. The inning began with a leadoff walk drawn by O’Neal. She was pinch ran for by Amanda Ablan. Doggett followed with a double into the right-center gap. Sikes drove in both runs with a single into center. She was out at second on the play, but the Bulldogs were on the board, slicing the Phoenix lead to 5-2.
Down three and going into the bottom of the seventh, Georgia mounted a comeback that fell just short in the end. Milz lined a one-out double to the wall in left, followed by a double off the bat of DiCarlo. With two on and two-out, O’Neal singled up the middle plating Milz and cutting the lead to two. Doggett poked a base hit through the left side to make it a one-run game. When it looked like the game would be tied, Clarke, the Elon second baseman, made a leaping catch to rob Sikes and end the game, 5-4.
Georgia is back in action as part of the UGA Classic on Sunday against Western Illinois at 1:30 p.m.