Georgia softball falls to Missouri Saturday evening 5-1 in game two of the series. The Tigers tied up the series 1-1. Georgia just couldn’t find its momentum on Saturday and it showed in the final score.
Amanda Ablan got the start for the Bulldogs and it was her fifth of the season. She tossed five and a third innings against Missouri. Ablan had four strikeouts, allowed six hits and two runs. She’s now 2-2 on the season after suffering the loss in the circle. Lauren Mathis came in to relieve Ablan and pitched one inning followed by Keara Napoli.
Napoli worked two-thirds of an inning in her third appearance this season. Despite giving up six hits, Ablan made a statement in the second inning. She pitched around three runners on base with no outs to avoid Missouri scoring.
Missouri took the 1-0 lead in the third after a single from Regan Nash scored pinch runner Abby George. After three scoreless innings for Georgia, Jordan Doggett hit an RBI groundout, scoring Alyssa DiCarlo to tie up the game. The game stayed at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
Georgia’s defense put on a defensive clinic, or what appeared to be one in the fifth inning. The defense performed a three-up, three-down inning beginning with Ciara Bryan snagging a ball on the wall in the outfield. Then Doggett caught a hard line drive ball without hesitation. DiCarlo ended the inning with a diving catch of her own just over second base.
The Tigers regrouped in the sixth to push two home and take back the lead. Brooke Wilmes hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Rylee Pierce. Then the Tigers followed with a single by Callie Martin that scored Nash. Cayla Kessinger hit a two-run home run to widen the lead over Georgia, 5-1.
A game like this is just life in the SEC,” head coach Lou Harris Champer states. “I am really proud of the girls and thought we had a great mindset and attitude. We made some unbelievable plays on defense. Tonight their pitcher did a great job of keeping us off balance. We left some opportunities when there were runners in scoring position but these are all things that we have done well on earlier in the season. Tonight you have to tip your hat to the other team. They put a lot of really nice swings together and got the better end tonight.”
Georgia and Missouri are 1-1 in the series. Sunday’s game marks the third-straight weekend that the Bulldogs will play a rubber game in a series. The two teams face off at Jack Turner Stadium for game three at 1 p.m.