The No. 12 Georgia softball team (24-3) opens its portion of the SEC slate this weekend, heading to South Carolina (21-5, 0-3) for a Saturday-Monday series.
The first game of the series is set for 3 p.m. ET on Saturday with coverage on SEC Network+/WatchESPN. Sunday and Monday will have a 7 p.m. ET first pitch with the contests featured on SEC Network, as Mark Neely and Amanda Scarborough will be on the call.
GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: KENNESAW STATE
Behind three hits from Sydni Emanuel and Brea Dickey, Georgia closed out Kennesaw State by a score of 8-1 on Wednesday. S. Emanuel and Dickey were the only Bulldogs to notch multiple hits, as the Bulldogs totaled 11 hits off of three Owl pitchers. Maeve McGuire added three runs to the Georgia score, tying her career high. In the circle, Chelsea Wilkinson (12-1) earned the win after giving up three hits and a walk while striking out seven in her five innings of action. Brittany Gray closed out the win, throwing two scoreless frames with three strikeouts.
BULLDOGS RETURN TO COLUMBIA AFTER SEC TITLE
Not facing the Gamecocks last season, the trip to Columbia this weekend will bring back memories for many of the Bulldogs. The last time that Georgia was there in 2014, the team won the program’s first SEC Tournament Championship, defeating Florida, Alabama and Kentucky on the way to the title. Wilkinson was named the MVP while Alex Hugo was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
SEC OPENERS UNDER Lu Harris-Champer
Georgia is in search of its 300th SEC win in program history when it opens up league play this weekend. Under head coach Lu Harris-Champer, the Bulldogs are 9-6 in their conference opener with the last loss coming at Mississippi State in 2012. In league opening series, Georgia has won 10 and lost four while splitting one, as the last time the squad didn’t take the opening series was in 2010 against a top-10 Alabama squad.
CORTNI MOVING IN ON HITTING RECORD
Despite not getting a hit against Kennesaw State, Cortni Emanuel’s hit streak lives on, as she has a chance to tie and break the record this weekend. On a 21-game hitting streak, Cortni is just one away from tying Megan Wiggins’ 22 set in 2010, as she was hit by a pitch in Wednesday’s opening at-bat, not counting as an official at-bat, before not returning to the lineup. Cortni is currently tied for second withPaige Wilson, as Wilson’s 21-game hitting streak spanned from April 2012 until February 2013. Cortni has a hit in every game dating back to Stetson in February, as 12 of those games have consisted of two or more hits. Reaching base in every game this season, Cortni has only had two games without a hit while she tied her career high with four hits against Charleston Southern.
SYDNI, DICKEY WITH HOT BATS AGAINST OWLS
Sydni and Dickey led the charge for Georgia against Kennesaw State, both notching three hits in the game. It was the seventh multi-hit game of the year for Sydni while the second for Dickey along with a new personal-best hit total. The duo also had multi-RBI in the contest, as Dickey led the team with three and Sydni with two. It was Dickey’s first RBI of her young career while it was the second time this season that Sydni had more than one RBI and ninth multi-RBI game of her career at Georgia.
DICARLO NAMED SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
After a solid week with a .455 batting average, Alyssa DiCarlo was named the SEC Freshman of the Week. DiCarlo’s average was third on the team over the seven-game span, as she tabbed 10 hits, including six for extra bases. At the Holy City Showdown, the third baseman recorded a .571 average while she was perfect at the plate in a pair of games. DiCarlo’s numbers helped the squad hit .362 last week with 72 total hits, including a .401 mark in the lowcountry tournament. For the week, DiCarlo had 14 assists and eight putout with no errors at the hot corner.
HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA SOFTBALL: For complete information on Georgia softball, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGASoftball on Twitter and Instagram and UGASoftball on Facebook.