Georgia softball advances to super regional with exciting Sunday wins
Georgia softball is on to the super regionals after a pair of exciting Sunday victories over Liberty. The Bulldogs fell to the Flames on Saturday morning, needing to beat Charlotte in an afternoon elimination game to keep the season alive. Then, in need of two wins to advance, Tony Baldwin’s Bulldogs did just that: using the slugging of their bats to win 14-5 before walking-off the “if necessary” regional final to win 3-2.
Sydney Chambley hit a pair of home runs in Sunday’s opener, two of UGA’s six in the win. Others came from Jayda Kearney, Sara Mosley, Lyndi Rae Davis and Emily Digby as Georgia recorded 17 hits and scored in all but two of its seven plate appearances.
Meanwhile, on the mound, the combo of Madison Kerpics and Lilli Backes got the job done with a combined fine strikeouts, each throwing more than 50 pitches in their respective 3.2 and 3.1 innings of work.
Georgia jumped out to a 9-0 lead, and if it wasn’t for four runs allowed in the fourth inning, it would’ve been a run-rule win. Still, the Bulldogs moved on comfortably to force the winner-take-all game seven.
Come the second matchup of the day and the third of the regional between Georgia and Liberty, it was once again Chambley that came through clutch. The game remained scoreless into the fourth inning before Liberty plated one in each of the fourth and fifth. UGA responded with one in the sixth, but the Bulldogs were down to their final out in the bottom of the seventh, trailing 2-1.
With her first pitch, Dallis Goodnight singled to center to bring Digby home from second base. Advancing to second on the throw, she scored on pitch later as Chambley sent her hit over the head of the center fielder, sending the Bulldogs to the supers.
Georgia, seeded 11th nationally, will play the winner of the UCLA regional. The host Bruins lead Grand Canyon in their own regional final at the time of publication, needing just one win to advance and host the super regional in Los Angeles next weekend with a berth in the Women’s College World Series on the line.
Georgia and UCLA played in February at the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational where UGA won 7-2, part on a 9-0 start to the season that featured a trio of ranked wins.
