Date: Feb. 12, 2020
First Pitch: 5 p.m.
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
Stadium: Heck Softball Complex

The 15th-ranked Georgia softball team begins a six-game road swing on Wednesday with a matchup at in-state foe Georgia State. The Bulldogs and Panthers will clash at 5 p.m. from Robert E. Heck Softball Complex.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series History Georgia State
» Georgia leads the all-time series 15-4
» The Bulldogs have played the Panthers on the road three times (1997, 2002, 2005), winning all three road games
» Last nine meetings have been in Athens
» 2020 will look to be the first home-and-home series between the in-state teams; last season’s game in Atlanta was rained out

Looking Back
Georgia opened the 2020 season going 5-0 at Jack Turner Stadium. The Bulldogs run-ruled their opponent in five innings in the first four games then in six innings in the fifth game. Georgia outscored opponents 47-4 on opening weekend. In three games, Georgia surrendered a first-inning lead then had to fight back. The Bulldogs used a combo of small ball and the long ball to begin the season perfect. As a team, Georgia was 12-of-14 on the base paths. In the circle, the Bulldogs surrendered only four runs on 10 hits while striking out 45 batters, walking only four, and recording two shutouts.

A Look at What’s Ahead
The Bulldogs will travel to Clearwater, Florida for the Second Annual St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational. Georgia open tournament play Friday at noon against Kansas on SEC Network. Georgia will then face #14/15 Northwestern at 3 p.m. Saturday’s slate includes heavy hitters in #18/19 Texas Tech at 10 a.m. followed by #4/4 UCLA at 4 p.m., televised on ESPNU. Georgia will conclude the action against South Florida on Sunday at 9 a.m.

In as Few Innings as Possible
Georgia opened the season with five-straight run-rule victories. The Bulldogs last began the season with five-straight run-rule victories in 2016 when they run-ruled their opponent in the first 10 games, the program record. During that span in 2016, Georgia outscored its opponents 108-7 with seven shutouts.

Georgia Has Strong Start Statistically
Opening weekend saw Georgia rank top-five nationally in a number of offensive categories including batting average (.411), on-base percentage (.504), scoring (9.4 runs/game), and triples per game (0.80). The Bulldogs also ranked top 10 in slugging percentage (.688). In the circle, Georgia’s 0.81 ERA ranked 11th and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 9.0 ranked seventh.

Georgia in the Polls
In the Week 1 polls, Georgia earned a ranking of #15 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the USA Softball/ESPN.com Poll. D1Softball ranked the Bulldogs #18 and Softball America gave Georgia a #12 ranking.