Georgia advances to Super Regionals with walk-off win against Liberty
Georgia softball kept its season alive in exciting fashion with a walk-off victory against Liberty on Sunday to advance to Super Regionals. The Bulldogs trailed 2-1 entering the final inning and facing elimination and got down to two outs with one runner on when Dallis Goodnight stepped to the plate.
She went on to hit an RBI single to drive in the tying run and at least guarantee extra innings. That brought Sydney Chambley up to bat with the potential winning run on second after Goodnight advanced on the throw. Chambley connected and hit the ball to deep center field as Goodnight rounded the bases for the go-ahead score to secure a 3-2 victory.
You can view the moment below.
The hit marked the only one of the game for Chambley in her two at bats. Emily Digby led the team by going 2-for-3 at the plate as the only Bulldogs player with multiple hits.
Georgia trailed for the entire game prior to the seventh inning and did not even score its first run until the sixth. The Bulldogs recorded four of the six hits on the afternoon over the final two innings to come through in the clutch after struggling to hit the ball for most of the day.
The victory was the second of the day for Georgia after it lost to Liberty on Saturday. The Bulldogs bounced back with a 14-5 victory in the early game Sunday behind a big hitting performance, including a team-high four hits and three RBI from Chambley. That set up the win-or-go-home contest to close out the day.
Although Georgia didn’t quite find the same success hitting the ball in the second game as it did in the first, the defense stepped up in a big way. Lilli Backes got the start at pitcher and played the full game to record a pair of strikeouts while giving up four hits in the win. She also pitched the final 3.1 innings of the first game of the day to earn the win in that one.
With the win, the Bulldogs advance to the Super Regionals for the 12th time in program history. They now enter a three-game series against most likely UCLA, which currently leads Grand Canyon by a score of 8-1 in the Los Angeles Regional with the winner advancing.
Super Regional play will take place May 23-26.