It’s Bulldog versus Bulldog this weekend as the No. 19 Georgia softball team hosts Mississippi State for a three-game series at Jack Turner Stadium. The series gets underway tonight at 6:00 p.m. ET, and the first 300 fans will receive a free No. 17 replica tank top. It’s also Student Appreciation Night, as students will have a chance to enter a raffle for prizes and the first 100 receive free pizza.
Game two is set for Saturday at 2:00 p.m. ET and players will be made available for postgame autographs. Game three is also set for a 2:00 p.m. ET first pitch and there will be a postgame egg hunt. All three games will be featured on SEC Network+/WatchESPN with live stats available via georgiadogs.com.
GAME NOTES
For the complete game notes for the Georgia versus Mississippi State women’s softball game, CLICK HERE.
LOOKING BACK AT THE WIN OVER GEORGIA TECH
A four-run sixth inning propelled Georgia to a 7-2 victory over Georgia Tech on Wednesday night at Jack Turner Stadium, making it the ninth straight win over the in-state rival.
Up 3-2 going into the sixth, an Alyssa DiCarlo single followed by walks to Lacey Sumerlin and Brea Dickey loaded the bases for Kendall Burton to earn an RBI the hard way with a hit by pitch. Alysen Febrey then notched her third hit of the night to allow two to score before Jordan Doggett wrapped up the 7-2 win with an RBI single.
Febrey was 3-for-3 on the night, as Georgia took 10 hits off of Yellow Jacket pitcher Emily Anderson (4-10). Cortni Emanuel and DiCarlo each notched two hits apiece.
Kylie Bass (6-0) posted her second complete game of the year, allowing four hits and one earned run while striking out a season-high seven batters.
CORTNI NAMED FINALIST FOR USA SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
For the second year in a row, Cortni Emanuel was named a finalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year, considered one of the most prestigious honors in Division I softball.
C. Emanuel is an essential part to the Bulldog offense, batting at the leadoff spot in every game she has played this season. The junior is hitting .422 this season, which ranks sixth in the SEC, as the Bulldogs lead the league and fifth in the nation in batting average. Her 54 hits is also sixth in the league while she just moved into Georgia’s career top 10 with 214 in her career.
Once on base, C. Emanuel shows off her speed, putting up 36 stolen bases for the most in the SEC by 13 bases. The Missouri City, Texas, native is just the second Bulldog ever to record 100 or more stolen bases in a career with 114. Nicole Barber holds the top spot with 257, which is still the most in NCAA history.
The outfielder was a top 25 finalist for the award last season and a top 10 finalist for the Freshman of the Year award in 2015. This year she is one of 34 and one of eight juniors on the list. Seven SEC student-athletes are among the honorees with five schools represented.
BULLDOGS FINISH TOUGH STRETCH OF CONFERENCE ACTION
Georgia rounded out a tough stretch of SEC play when it wrapped at Florida on Monday night, facing three top-12 opponents in back-to-back-to-back weekends. In program history, Georgia has never faced a three-straight, three-game conference schedule against consecutive top-12 teams. The Bulldogs were close in 2013 when Georgia faced No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 2 Florida and then a weather-shortened two-game series against No. 8 LSU. The Bulldogs also faced No. 2 Alabama, No. 2 Florida and a doubleheader against No. 8 Tennessee in 2011.
GEORGIA COMES IN AT 21 IN NCAA RPI
Georgia moved up a spot to No. 21 in this week’s RPI. Seven SEC teams rank above Georgia while nine league teams are in the top 25, as the Bulldogs face six of those, including Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M and LSU all in the top 10. Georgia has faced four teams in the top five already, including non-conference foe UCLA, while the Bulldogs are 12-12 vs. the top 100 and 17-12 when extended to the top 150. This weekend’s opponent in Mississippi State comes in at No. 33, as all 13 SEC teams are in the top 36.