The eighth-ranked Georgia Bulldog softball team dropped a 3-1 decision to North Carolina on Wednesday evening at Jack Turner Stadium.
Freshman Savana Sikes knocked her seventh home-run of the season and scored Georgia’s lone run of the game. Sikes tallied two hits while junior Ciara Bryan and freshman CJ Landrum recorded one hit apiece. Senior Alyssa DiCarlo successfully extended her on-base streak to 28 games after being walked in the first inning. In total, the Bulldogs (24-4) scored one run on four hits.
Senior Kylie Bass (6-1) made the start in the circle for the Bulldog pitching staff, recording one strikeout and allowing three runs on two hits in her five and
“I thought Kylie gave us a great start and then Mary came in and made some really quality pitches,” said Associate Head Coach Tony Baldwin. “I thought our defense, while we had some mishaps, made some really great plays, too. We got a great catch from CJ out in right field, Alyssa made some good plays and so did Savana. We did some good things, just not enough to come out on top and that is the way it goes when you face a good team.”
It was a pitcher’s duel through five innings, the score remaining 0-0 despite Georgia recording three hits and leaving five runners stranded.
North Carolina got things going in the top of the sixth inning after the lead-off hitter reached on an error. The Tar Heels ended the sixth inning with a 3-0 lead, scoring off a walk, a wild pitch
Avant allowed one on base in the top of the seventh off an error but escaped the inning with no runs allowed. Georgia went into the bottom of the seventh still trailing, 3-0.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Sikes put the Bulldogs on the board with a solo shot down the left field line and cut the Tar Heels lead to two runs. Georgia was unable to overcome the deficit, falling to North Carolina, 3-1.
Georgia will begin SEC play this Friday, Mar. 15 at 4 p.m., EDT, on the road against Missouri in Columbia.