Sikes’ Walk-Off Hit Downs No. 16 Clemson, 3-2

Wednesday, March 23

Athens, Ga.

7:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

27-4

Clemson

19-9

Clemson

Georgia

March 23, 2022 | Softball

Box Score

ATHENS, Ga. – A walk-off RBI single off the bat of senior Savana Sikes in the bottom of the seventh, secured a 3-2 victory for the 17^th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs over No. 16 Clemson Wednesday night at Jack Turner Stadium.

Georgia (27-4) earned its first victory over a ranked opponents this season in front of a crowd of 1,276 fans and a nationally televised audience on SEC Network.

Georgia scatted six hits, two coming from junior Sydney Kuma. Jaiden Fields' seventh home run of the season put Georgia on the board in the second inning.

Sophomore Madison Kerpics (10-1) went the distance in the circle, working seven innings. She allowed just two hits to the Tigers and struck out seven in her outing.

Kerpics got two quick outs in the opening frame, but two Bulldog errors extended the inning and allowed Clemson to load the bases. A hit batter pushed one run across for Clemson, but Kerpics was able to limit the damage in the first, 1-0.

A two-out solo home run in the top of the second widened Clemson's lead to 2-0, but Fields responded with a solo shot of her own in the home half of the inning to put the Bulldogs on the board, 2-1.

The 2-1 score held until the bottom of the sixth. Sara Mosley reached second on an error by the Clemson third baseman. She took third on a groundout then scored on a wild pitch to knot the game up at two-all going to the seventh.

Kerpics spun a three-up, three-down in the top of the seventh to put the Bulldogs in position to win it.

Kuma led off the home half of the seventh inning with a single poked through the right side of the infield. She took second on a groundout to first from Payden Bordeau. With two out, Sikes shot a single down the third base line, just fair, to drive in Kuma and walk off the Tigers, 3-2.

Georgia hosts Texas A&M at Jack Turner Stadium this weekend in its first SEC home series. The three-game slate kicks off Friday evening at 6 p.m.

Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On the message after tonight's game...
"I think being in this atmosphere against a really quality team that is very well-coached is good. I just told the girls to get used to it. The next seven weekends will be like this. Every weekend in the SEC is this kind of crowd, this kind of challenge, this competition. You must stay in the fight. That's the thing I am most proud of. The first inning got a little wonky there, and it got a little sped up. We minimized the damage and didn't let it turn into a big inning. One run could have easily been three, four, or five. We kept it to one and then Madison really settled in. She pitched great from there on out."

On Madison Kerpics' outing...
"I think she just got more comfortable doing here thing. She's still a young player getting used to pitching in these kinds of games. Once she settled in and was executing the pitches, I thought Chelsea [Wilkinson] called an outstanding game that kept them off-balance. It says something about the quality of your pitches and the pitch calling as the game gets further along, they have a harder time timing the throw."

On Clemson's pitching tonight...
"I told our team we won't face anybody better than [Valerie Cagle]. There are certainly other good pitchers in our conference, and I'm not selling anybody short, but she's as good as it gets. Team USA, All-American, and so on, she has had her way against some pretty good teams in the preseason and early season. I am not surprised at all, but I was really proud of the at bats and competitive nature that we showed down the stretch."

Sophomore pitcher Madison Kerpics
On the environment inside Jack Turner Stadium and any nerves starting…
"No, honestly having the fans out there, it feels great. Just knowing that they're there for you. Going in, I felt confident in myself and the team."

On her progression throughout the game…
"I just thought about it as one pitch at a time, just trying to hit my spots. I was trying to keep them off balance, and Coach Chelsea [Wilkinson] did a great job of calling pitches. I think each inning I did better hitting my spot."

On her increased pitch load this season…
"Honestly, I think I've handled it well, just pitching more this season. We do a great job of having off days, keeping our loads light. I don't think it's been any more difficult. The coaches have done a great job of managing how we pitch."

Senior shortstop Savana Sikes
On what was going through her mind after her walk-off hit…
"I was just competing for my team. I didn't want to let them down. Clemson's pitcher, she's a heck of a pitcher. She's really good. I just kind of shortened it up and did my thing."

On Coach Tony Baldwin's message before her last at bat…
"The Clemson pitcher throws a really great drop ball, so just the bottom half and focusing on that to get the ball in the air. That's really it. Tony [Baldwin] lets us do our thing because we're all good hitters and players, so we just compete."

On what this game means preparing for Texas A&M this weekend…
"I think we're going to have momentum going forward, but the game doesn't know what happened tonight. So, this weekend is not going to know what we did tonight. We must stay neutral like Tony [Baldwin] says. We can't let this high get too high or the lows get too low. We're not a rollercoaster. We're just here coasting."