Georgia softball continued the 2018 Red and Black Showcase on Saturday and dominated its competition. The Bulldogs played in their second doubleheader this weekend and defeated College of Charleston 6-0 and ETSU 7-0. Dominating pitching and clean hits led Georgia to its 12th and 13th wins of the season.
Three Bulldogs pitchers, and 14 scoreless innings later, Kylie Bass, Mary Wilson Avant, and Brittany Gray gave up two infield hits and three baserunners. Bass improved to 5-0 on the season and allowed just two base runners. Avant sealed the win with her three scoreless innings. In game two, Gray tallied 14 strikeouts, a career high.
Georgia’s bats dominated just as much as the defense did. Cortni Emanuel matched the Bulldogs all-time stolen bases record in a single game with four stolen bases against College of Charleston. The four stolen bases marked a career high for the senior. She took control of the plate as well, totaling four hits and three runs scored on the day. Not to mention she had seven total stolen bases on the day.
Alysen Febrey hit a .667 in the two games going 4-for-6. She had a pair of hits in each game. And Febrey led the Bulldogs in hits for the weekend going 8-for-13, nabbing 4 RBI, a home run and a double.
Georgia scored in game one before they ever got the first out in the bottom of the opening frame. Emanuel reached on a bunt single, stole second and advanced to third off a Justice Milz base hit. She reached home after Milz stole second and College of Charleston overthrew the second baseman.
Alyssa DiCarlo walked to lead off the third inning, Febrey and Ciara Bryan loaded the bases with back-to-back base hit bunts. Mahlena O’Neal, with one out, took the first pitched and sailed it to right center field. She tallied a 2 RBI to send home Febrey and Bryan. Tiffani Railey came in for O’Neal to run and Georgia picked up the 3-0 lead with a double steal from Railey and Kendall Burton.
Georgia clinched the win with runs in the fourth and fifth inning led by hits from Emanuel and Jessica Morgan.
During the second game, the score remained 0-0 until the fourth inning. ETSU attempted to steal a base in the fourth, but Morgan connected with DiCarlo for the out. The ETSU player was the first runner who attempted a steal on Morgan this season from behind the plate. In the bottom of the fourth, Morgan hit a two-run line-drive home run over the right-field fence. The dinger gave Georgia a 2-0 advantage.
In the fifth inning, the Bulldogs used the short ball to their advantage. Base-hit bunts helped Georgia all day long, so they continued to do it against ETSU. Georgia tacked on two more runs highlighted off those base-hit bunts. Then in the sixth inning, Burton extended her on-base streak to 14 games with a single up the middle. Kaylie Harding and Jordan Doggett followed Burton with a pair of RBI singles.
Later on in the sixth, Emanuel on second and Dogget on third, the pair fought the defense into two separate rundowns between the bases. Emanuel distracted the defense just enough to send Doggett home to score Georgia’s seventh and final run of the game.
The win marked Georgia’s 12th straight win, and it improves to 13-1 on the season. Up next for the Bulldogs is a mid-week face off with Winthrop on February 28. Then Georgia returns home to host the Bulldog Classic from March 2-4. The Bulldogs welcome Radford, Jacksonville State and UNCG to Athens.