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Softball: Dawgs run rule Georgia Southern 9-1, Florida next
The 12th-ranked Georgia softball team run-ruled Georgia Southern 9-1 in five innings Wednesday evening at Jack Turner Stadium.
Georgia improves to 32-8 on the season with the victory.
Junior Madison Kerpics (12-5) earned the victory in her start, working four shutout innings, and allowing three hits. Kerpics struck out eight and walked just one. Freshman Destin Howard worked the final inning, allowing one run.
The offense out-hit the Eagles 6-3 Wednesday. Lyndi Rae Davis led the charge with two hits, one of which was a grand slam in the fourth inning. Dallis Goodnight and Ellie Armistead were responsible for two RBI each at the top and bottom of the lineup.
Georgia put up five runs in the second to jump out to a big lead early. With bases loaded and one out, Armistead singled to left to plate two. The next batter, Goodnight, sent a base hit back up the middle to drive in two more and bring the lead to 4-0. Goodnight proceeded to steal second, take third on a flyout, then score on a wild pitch to widen the early lead to 5-0 after two innings.
Davis blasted a grand slam to right-center in the fourth to lengthen the lead to 9-0. The slam was the first of her career.
Georgia Southern (14-21) didn’t go quietly in the fifth, loading the bases on three-straight one-out walks. An RBI fielder’s choice by Faith Barth pushed in a run to break up the shutout, 9-1. Howard held the Eagles to the lone run en route to the run rule.
The Bulldogs travel to Gainesville, Florida, this weekend for a three-game series against No. 15 Florida. The top-15 SEC series begins Friday at 6:30 p.m., streaming live on SEC Network+.
Head Coach Tony Baldwin’s Comments
Opening statement…
“The first thing that came to mind tonight was what a great crowd. We had a great night for softball and Dawg Nation was here. The stands were packed for a Wednesday game. You can’t ask for anything more. You come to a place like this to have games like this. Thanks to all the fans that came out. I thought we were really disciplined tonight. That’s been something that we’ve been working on and something that I’ve challenged our team with. Clearly, their goal was to make it hard for us to score runs with how they were mixing and matching their pitching and how they pitched us. I thought we did a good job of taking the walks, taking the hit by pitches, and forcing them eventually to put the ball across the plate. When they did, we put some pretty good swings on it. We were competitive in the circle. I don’t know if we were as sharp as we can be, but we were sharp enough. Then, we played clean on defense. All in all, a pretty good day and a good game leading into the weekend.”
On his message to the team early in the game…
“At the end of the day, their pitcher created a matchup kind of thing. Yesterday, we used that practice to really prepare for what Florida does, which is very different from what that starting pitcher for Georgia Southern was doing. We just had to talk about what we have to do to be successful against this pitcher and make that adjustment because it was a little bit different than what we’ve been working on.”
MTennis: Ethan Quinn earns his fourth SEC Freshman of the Week award
University of Georgia men’s tennis redshirt freshman Ethan Quinn has earned his fourth Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week award, the league office announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Quinn played a crucial part in helping Georgia capture at least a share of its 32nd regular season conference title this past weekend, earning key wins in doubles and singles across the team’s two matches. The Fresno, Calif. native is the first Georgia player to earn the honors at least four times in a season since Nathan Ponwith did so five times throughout the 2017 spring season.
“Ethan keeps doing Ethan things,” said head coach Manny Diaz. “He’s coming along and is getting more comfortable playing in the leadoff spot. He’s been a valuable asset and he continues to grow in this role.”
Quinn began the weekend in doubles with partner Trent Bryde, where they managed to hand top-ranked Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson of No. 5 South Carolina just their second loss of the year and their first loss in conference play by a 6-3 score, clinching the doubles point.
With the win, the now fifth-ranked Bryde and Quinn earned their 15th win of the year together and their 11th on court one. This also marks their eighth victory against a ranked doubles team and the fourth time this season they have clinched the doubles point. After nabbing the doubles point, the Bulldogs would sweep the Gamecocks, 4-0, with three straight set wins in singles.
On Sunday, after dropping the doubles point against No. 20 Florida, No. 3 Quinn responded in a big way. He swiftly defeated No. 81 Axel Nefve, who in his previous match defeated No. 2 Johannus Monday, on court one in straight sets by a 6-3, 6-2 score, tying the match. With the win, Quinn improved to 21-10 this year, with 11 wins on court one in singles and 15 against ranked competition.
Over his last nine matches, he is 8-1 with four wins against players ranked in the top-55 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles poll. Quinn is one of two singles players in the SEC to rank in the top five and the only freshman in the country ranked in the top 5 nationally in both singles and doubles.
The Bulldogs will close out their regular season this week, beginning with No. 12 Mississippi State on Thursday at 9 a.m. ET and then celebrate senior day against No. 25 Ole Miss on Saturday at 1 p.m. with ceremonies beginning around 12:50 p.m. Georgia will finish conference play undefeated for the first time since 2016 if it wins its final two matches.
Swim/Dive: Thirteen team members honored as All-SEC
Thirteen members of the University of Georgia swimming and diving teams were honored with All-SEC honors, as announced by the league office in Birmingham Wednesday morning.
Seniors Zoie Hartman and Bradley Dunham and sophomore Rachel Stege were each named to the First Team All-SEC after winning conference titles at the SEC Swimming & Diving Championships in February in Bryan-College Station, Texas. For Hartman, it is her fourth-consecutive placement on the First Team as she took first in the 200 IM, while it is the first First Team placement for Dunham and Stege. Dunham was previously named to the Second Team in 2021.
Five members of the men’s and women’s teams, respectively, received Second Team honors. On the men’s side, seniors Dillon Downing and Zach Hils and sophomore Reese Branzell were recognized for their bronze medal 400 freestyle relay. Senior Ian Grum picked up his third-straight All-SEC honor with a bronze in the 400 IM, and junior Jake Magahey was honored for runner-up finishes in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle. This is the fourth All-SEC honor for Hils, third for Downing and Magahey, and first for Branzell.
For the women’s team, senior Jillian Barczyk, junior Sloane Reinstein, and sophomore Duné Coetzee were honored for their third-place 800 freestyle relay. Graduate Callie Dickinson placed second in the 200 butterfly, while sophomore Eboni McCarty finished third in the 100 backstroke. This is the third honor for Dickinson, second honor for Barczyk and Coetzee, and first for McCarty and Reinstein.
For the All-SEC Teams, the First Team consists of the top finisher in each event at the SEC Championships, and the Second Team consists of the second and third-place finishers in each event. The All-Freshman Teams consist of any redshirt or true freshman who finished either in the top eight or is the highest-scoring freshman of each event at the SEC Championships, excluding relay events.
EQ: Dawgs chasing eighth national title at 2023 NCEA National Championship
The University of Georgia equestrian team is set to compete as the sixth seed in the 2023 National Collegiate Equestrian Association National Championship, taking place at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida April 13-15.
The nation’s top eight teams will compete for the 2023 NCEA Championship. Georgia’s quest to its eighth national title starts Thursday, April 13, as the Bulldogs face No. 3 Oklahoma State at 2:30 p.m. Also in Georgia’s bracket are two-seed Auburn and seven-seed South Carolina who will face off on Thursday as well. The winners from both meets will compete on Friday, April 14 at 2 p.m. for a berth to the national championship.
Since the first NCEA Team National Championship in 2002, Georgia leads the nation with seven national titles. Auburn is next with six, followed by South Carolina and Texas A&M with three apiece. Last year, Oklahoma State was the first non-SEC school to win the title.
The University of Georgia equestrian team is set to compete as the sixth seed in the 2023 National Collegiate Equestrian Association National Championship, taking place at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida April 13-15.
The nation’s top eight teams will compete for the 2023 NCEA Championship. Georgia’s quest to its eighth national title starts Thursday, April 13, as the Bulldogs face No. 3 Oklahoma State at 2:30 p.m. Also in Georgia’s bracket are two-seed Auburn and seven-seed South Carolina who will face off on Thursday as well. The winners from both meets will compete on Friday, April 14 at 2 p.m. for a berth to the national championship.
Since the first NCEA Team National Championship in 2002, Georgia leads the nation with seven national titles. Auburn is next with six, followed by South Carolina and Texas A&M with three apiece. Last year, Oklahoma State was the first non-SEC school to win the title.
National Championship Seeding
1. SMU
2. Auburn
3. Oklahoma State
4. TCU
5. Texas A&M
6. Georgia
7. South Carolina
8. Baylor
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