The Georgia softball team’s win streak ends at 12 as they took their first losses on the season against two top-25 matchups on Thursday in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Bulldogs fell 4-0 to No. 23 BYU and then in the second game of the day, were unable to hold off a Bruins surge to fall 10-5 to No. 4 UCLA.
The Bulldogs took their first loss of the season against No. 23 BYU in the day’s opener. The Cougars’ Ashley Thompson put BYU ahead with a two-run home run in the first inning before BYU tacked on two more in the third with a sacrifice fly and a heads-up play of stealing home.
Georgia put baserunners in scoring position in all but two innings, but left all eight stranded. Sydni Emanuel reached base three times by way of two hits and an error while Maeve McGuire and Cortni Emanuel made it twice with McGuire walking in both and C. Emanuel notching a hit and walk.
Mary Wilson Avant came in as relief and threw four scoreless innings, allowing two hits while fanning six. Brittany Gray (7-1) took the loss, giving up two hits and four walks.
In the nightcap, UCLA jumped ahead 4-2 after four innings, but a two-run fifth inning had the Bulldogs tie it up at 4-all. In that frame, Alyssa DiCarlo reached base on a hit by pitch before scoring on a double from Mahlena O’Neal. Justice Milz then traded places with O’Neal to knot it up.
The Bruins capitalized on a Bulldog error for more life in the bottom sixth, tallying a six-run frame to seal the win.
Avant (1-1) became the pitcher of record after coming in from the bullpen for 3.1 innings, as she allowed three hits and four runs, but none of the runs were earned. The Bulldog lineup had one hit each from seven different players, but left nine on base.
The weekend in California continues on Friday, as Georgia faces Notre Dame and Northwestern in back-to-back games starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. Fans can watch online with a subscription to FloSoftball.com or keep up with live stats via georgiadogs.com.
For the final stats and box score from the Georgia softball team’s game versus BYU, CLICK HERE.
For the final stats and box score from the Georgia softball team’s game versus UCLA, CLICK HERE.