[break] The No. 8/7 Georgia softball team took down No. 4/3 Oklahoma 6-5 on Friday, Feb. 20 at Big League Dreams in Cathedral City, Calif., in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Challenge. With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 12-1 on the season and picked up their first win over a top-5 team this season.

Chelsea Wilkinson got the win for the Bulldogs to improve to 8-1 on the year. She allowed five runs on eight hits and struck out five in the complete-game performance. Paige Parker suffered the loss to drop to 3-2 on the year. She allowed four runs on 10 hits and a walk in 5.1 innings of work. Shelby Pendley got the start and allowed two runs on three hits in 0.2 of an inning.

The Bulldogs had a quintet of batters record two hits in the performance to lead the team.

Georgia jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Sydni Emanuel got things started with a one-out single to left. Paige Wilson followed with a single of her own. During the play, the Oklahoma center fielder committed a throwing error that allowed S. Emanuel to score and give Georgia a 1-0 lead. With a runner at third, Alex Hugo came through with a RBI-single over the head of the shortstop and into left center. The hit allowed Wilson to score and put Georgia up 2-0.

Oklahoma tied the game up at 2-2 in the top of the second inning with a two-run homerun.

The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Niaja Griffin set the scoring up, leading off with a double down the left field line. A sacrifice bunt moved her to third before Cortni Emanuel sent her home on a fielder’s choice to short that allowed Georgia to retake the lead at 3-2. C. Emanuel added a run when she scored from second on a Wilson to single

The scoring didn’t stop there, as Georgia put two more runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. Tina Iosefa and Kaylee Puailoa led off with back-to-back singles. With two outs, Samantha LaZear added a single to load the bases for C. Emanuel, who put the ball just out of reach of the shortstop for a RBI-single that scored pinch runner Adele Harrison. The Bulldogs extended its lead to 6-2 on a RBI-single to left.

Oklahoma made it a game in the top of the seventh. After the first two batters reached, Shelby Pendley homered to right field to cut thelead to 6-5. Wilkinson settled in and got a fly out and a groundout to end the threat and seal Georgia’s 6-5 win.

Georgia returns to action tomorrow, Feb. 21 when they take on No. 24/23 Notre Dame. It will be the third-straight ranked team the Bulldogs have faced. The game is slated to begin at 8:30 p.m. ET.