Georgia Hosts Bulldog Classic Beginning Friday

#19 Georgia (14-3)
hosting the Bulldog Classic
Date: Feb. 28-Mar. 1, 2020
Location: Athens, Ga.
Stadium: Jack Turner Stadium
Admission: FREE
Georgia's Tournament Schedule:
     Friday – vs. Eastern Illinois, 3:30 p.m. / vs. Boston College, 6 p.m.
     Saturday – vs. Boston College, 1 p.m. / vs. Western Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
     Sunday – vs. Western Carolina, 1 p.m.

Media Information
Streaming: SEC Network+
     Play-by-play: Karlie Smith
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Audio: Mixlr (Friday) / WUOG 90.5 FM (vs. Western Carolina)
Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball

The 14th-ranked Georgia softball team returns to Jack Turner Stadium to host the 11th Annual Bulldog Classic this weekend, beginning Friday. Georgia hosts Eastern Illinois, Boston College, and Western Carolina.

Georgia is nearing the end of a span of 13 games in 12 days; 12 of which will be played in Athens.

This Weekend's Promotions
» Admission to every home regular season Georgia softball game is FREE

Follow the Bulldogs
» Every Georgia game will stream live on SEC Network+. Karlie Smith will call play-by-play.
» Friday's Georgia games can be heard on Mixlr. Audio streaming links can be found on the softball schedule at GeorgiaDogs.com.
» Both games against Western Carolina are scheduled to air on WUOG 90.5 FM in Athens. Audio streaming links can be found on the softball schedule at GeorgiaDogs.com.
» Live stats will be available for all games. Live stat links can be found on the softball schedule at GeorgiaDogs.com.
» Live Twitter updates will be available at the official Twitter page of Georgia softball, @UGAsoftball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series Histories
Eastern Illinois
» First all-time meeting
Boston College
» Georgia leads all-time series 2-0
» Both meetings have been in Athens, the first in 2003 and the last in 2016
Western Carolina
» Georgia leads all-time series 8-0
» First-ever meeting in 2007 was in Tallahassee; the last seven have been in Athens, most recently 2018

Looking Back
Georgia played a pair of midweek games this week, the first at home against Alabama State. Georgia run-ruled the Hornets 9-1 in six innings to widen its winning streak to seven games. Georgia then traveled to Clemson for the first-ever meeting with the Tigers. Clemson used six-straight singles in the bottom of the fourth to plate four runs and take a 4-1 lead on the Bulldogs. Georgia was unable to overcome the deficit, falling to Clemson on the road and snapping its seven-game win streak.

A Look at What's Ahead
Georgia will host Georgia Tech Wednesday at Jack Turner Stadium. The first 250 fans will receive a Georgia softball jersey t-shirt. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. The Bulldogs will then set their sights on Southeastern Conference play, hosting South Carolina in a three-game series next weekend.

Coaching Connection
Eastern Illinois head coach Tara Archibald will return to Athens this weekend. Archibald was an assistant coach at Georgia from 2012-14. Archibald was on staff with her father Gerry Glasco when he was an assistant coach with the Bulldogs. She was on staff for Georgia's Super Regional appearances in 2012 and 2014 and for its lone SEC Tournament championship in 2014. Archibald is also the sister of the late Geri Ann Glasco, who played for Georgia from 2013-14.

In as Few Innings as Possible
Georgia opened the season with seven-straight run-rule victories. The Bulldogs last began the season with seven-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.

The Bulldogs have kept the offense firing recently, run ruling their opponent six times in the last seven games. Most notably, Georgia run-ruled #21 James Madison in back-to-back games in the Georgia Classic. In all, Georgia has won in run-rule fashion 13 of its 15 victories.

Big Bat Bryan
Senior Ciara Bryan currently ranks second in the country with eight home runs, a figure that leads the SEC. Bryan has nearly matched her 11 from last season, which is a career best for her.

Bryan knocked a total of three home runs in five games in Clearwater, Florida. Bryan's tally was the most of any player from the 16 teams that competed in Clearwater. Her second home run led off the game against #21 Northwestern. It was the first time a Bulldog led off a game with a home run since Anna Swafford did it against Missouri on Mar. 28, 2014.

Puckett Calls Game... Again
Junior Mackenzie Puckett has been clutch in winning moments her first season at Georgia. Three times she has knocked a game-winning hit to run-rule the opponent. The first, she hit a three-run home against UNCW then followed it up the very next game with an RBI double to end the game against Howard the same day. In the Feb. 20 game against Samford, she hit a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam to lift Georgia to an 8-0 victory in five innings.

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 strikeout-to-walk ratio of 9.0 ranked seventh.

Georgia in the Polls
In the Week 3 polls, Georgia climbed to a ranking of #14 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and #15 in the USA Softball/ESPN.com Poll. D1Softball and Softball America gave Georgia a #15 ranking.

A Full February
The Bulldogs will begin the season with a full slate in the month of February. Georgia will play 24 (17 in Athens) of its 56 regular season games this month, that's over 40 percent of the regular season. Of those 24 games, the Bulldogs will face four preseason top 25 opponents in #4 UCLA, #14 Northwestern, #18 Texas Tech, and #20 James Madison.

Trio of Bulldogs Appear in Softball America's Top 100
Lacey Fincher (#72), Ciara Bryan (#83), and Justice Milz (#93) appear in Softball America's 2020 Top 100 Players list, released prior to the start of the season. 2020 is the second season in a row the Bulldogs have landed three in the top 100 list.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ciara Bryan

Lacey Fincher

Justice Milz

Mackenzie Puckett