Sunday, March 17
Athens, Ga.
12 p.m.
University of Georgia
23-4, 2-1
4
vs
5
Alabama
22-5, 2-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Alabama
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
5
7
1
Georgia
0
0
1
0
1
1
1
4
7
1
Georgia’s Comeback Falls Short, Alabama Avoids Sweep, 5-4
March 17, 2024 | Softball
ATHENS, Ga. – The fifth-ranked Georgia softball team's late-inning comeback fell just short as No. 14/15 Alabama held on to win Sunday's series finale 5-4, avoiding a sweep at Jack Turner Stadium.
Georgia's win streak is snapped at eight games as the Dogs fall to 22-5 on the season and 2-1 in SEC play.
Lyndi Rae Davis and Dallis Goodnight each recorded two hits in the game at the top of bottom of Georgia's lineup. In all, the Bulldogs scattered seven hits.
Shelby Walters (5-2) suffered the loss in her start, allowing three runs in three innings of work. Madison Kerpics pitched three innings out of the pen while Lilli Backes pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
Goodnight flared a one-out hit to left in the third then immediately stole second. She came in to score on a double to the wall in right off the bat of Davis to go ahead 1-0.
Alabama (22-5, 2-4) answered quickly with a leadoff home run in the fourth to tie the game at 1-all. Four more runs on a sac fly, an RBI double, and a two-RBI single put the Tide in front 5-1.
Georgia's comeback started in the fifth when an Alabama error allowed Tyler Ellison to score, 5-2. Jaydyn Goodwin's RBI double in the sixth narrowed the deficit further, 5-3.
Goodnight and Davis each singled to start the bottom of the seventh. After two outs, a passed ball allowed Goodnight to score and make it a one-run game, 5-4. Walks to Sydney Kuma and Goodwin loaded the bases, but Kayla Beaver's fifth strikeout of the game ended the Bulldog comeback.
Georgia's 10-game homestand will end on Wednesday when Georgia Southern comes to Athens. The midweek game will begin at 6 p.m. at Jack Turner Stadium.
Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On Sunday's result...
"The only disappointing thing was the outcome. That's softball right there, and I'm really proud of the way we played. Nobody wanted that big inning to happen, but it did. We stayed in it, competed, continued to scratch and claw, and gave ourselves a chance to win in the end. That's all you can do when you're playing a really good team - put yourself in the opportunity to win the game - and we did that. A lot of really good things over the weekend. We'll put ourselves back together and get back to work on Tuesday. Looking forward to another great week."
On the fans...
"Incredible. This has been what SEC softball is really all about. Again, I know it's not the most convenient situation right now with the construction, parking and all that kind of stuff, but I'm just thankful for Dawg Nation coming out. They made an impact. We were really excited to play at home in front of our crowd, and we'll look forward to getting some people here on Wednesday night, and we'll be back in a couple of weeks.'
Georgia's win streak is snapped at eight games as the Dogs fall to 22-5 on the season and 2-1 in SEC play.
Lyndi Rae Davis and Dallis Goodnight each recorded two hits in the game at the top of bottom of Georgia's lineup. In all, the Bulldogs scattered seven hits.
Shelby Walters (5-2) suffered the loss in her start, allowing three runs in three innings of work. Madison Kerpics pitched three innings out of the pen while Lilli Backes pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
Goodnight flared a one-out hit to left in the third then immediately stole second. She came in to score on a double to the wall in right off the bat of Davis to go ahead 1-0.
Alabama (22-5, 2-4) answered quickly with a leadoff home run in the fourth to tie the game at 1-all. Four more runs on a sac fly, an RBI double, and a two-RBI single put the Tide in front 5-1.
Georgia's comeback started in the fifth when an Alabama error allowed Tyler Ellison to score, 5-2. Jaydyn Goodwin's RBI double in the sixth narrowed the deficit further, 5-3.
Goodnight and Davis each singled to start the bottom of the seventh. After two outs, a passed ball allowed Goodnight to score and make it a one-run game, 5-4. Walks to Sydney Kuma and Goodwin loaded the bases, but Kayla Beaver's fifth strikeout of the game ended the Bulldog comeback.
Georgia's 10-game homestand will end on Wednesday when Georgia Southern comes to Athens. The midweek game will begin at 6 p.m. at Jack Turner Stadium.
Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On Sunday's result...
"The only disappointing thing was the outcome. That's softball right there, and I'm really proud of the way we played. Nobody wanted that big inning to happen, but it did. We stayed in it, competed, continued to scratch and claw, and gave ourselves a chance to win in the end. That's all you can do when you're playing a really good team - put yourself in the opportunity to win the game - and we did that. A lot of really good things over the weekend. We'll put ourselves back together and get back to work on Tuesday. Looking forward to another great week."
On the fans...
"Incredible. This has been what SEC softball is really all about. Again, I know it's not the most convenient situation right now with the construction, parking and all that kind of stuff, but I'm just thankful for Dawg Nation coming out. They made an impact. We were really excited to play at home in front of our crowd, and we'll look forward to getting some people here on Wednesday night, and we'll be back in a couple of weeks.'
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kayla Beaver (9-2)
L: Walters, Shelby (5-2)
Batting:
2B: Kenleigh Cahalan 1 ; Bailey Dowling 1
HR: Jenna Johnson 1
RBI: Jenna Johnson 1 ; Kenleigh Cahalan 1 ; Bailey Dowling 1 ; Emma Broadfoot 2
SF: Kenleigh Cahalan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jenna Johnson 1 ; Kali Heivilin 1 ; Kinley Pate 1 ; Marlie Giles 1 ; Kat Grill 1
HBP: Marlie Giles 1
Batting:
2B: Davis, Lyndi Rae 1 ; Goodwin, Jaydyn 1
RBI: Davis, Lyndi Rae 1 ; Goodwin, Jaydyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kuma, Sydney 1 ; Ellison, Tyler 1 ; Goodnight, Dallis 2
SB: Goodnight, Dallis 1
HBP: Chambley, Sydney 1 ; Goodnight, Dallis 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF/OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
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