Georgia vs. Liberty softball delayed due to inclement weather

Sunday’s matchup between Georgia and Liberty in the Athens Regional has been delayed due to inclement weather, the team announced.

First pitch is now scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET barring any more delays. The game will be aired on ESPN+.

Despite being a top 16 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, Georgia’s back is against the wall on Sunday. Liberty defeated the Bulldogs 7-3 in the winner’s bracket of the Athens Regional on Saturday. This shot the Bulldogs into a survive-and-advance scenario against Charlotte 5-0 later on Saturday night to set up a rematch against the Flames.

Liberty only has to win once to advance to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament, while Georgia will be forced to win back-to-back matchups against the Flames to push themselves on to the next round.

In their previous game, Liberty let up a lead-off home run in the first inning. After that, Flames pitcher Kaylan Yoder kept the Bulldogs quiet through three innings and took a 3-0 lead on offense.

The Bulldogs put themselves in the driver’s seat in the fourth inning after Georgia quickly loaded the bases with no outs and despite her early success, Yoder was relieved in favor of Elena Escobar.

Georgia took advantage of their hot bats, forcing Escobar to walk in the first batter she faced. Jaydyn Goodwin was due up next and belted a two-RBI single past the Liberty first baseman to tie the game. Escobar would eventually get out of another bases-loaded situation and the Bulldogs wouldn’t find home plate again.

Flames coach Dot Richardson explained why she made the pitching change despite Yoder’s early success, giving the Bulldogs’ batting lineup credit for being able to string together some hard-hit balls against a strong pitcher. Richardson also added that having a pitching staff that’s as flexible as the Flames goes a long way in the success they enjoyed this past season.

While Escobar struggled to clean up the jam that Yoder left her with — Escobar finished the game on the mound and didn’t let up another run throughout the game.

The next inning, Liberty’s offense went out in the bottom of the fourth inning and — just as UGA did in the top half of the inning — loaded the bases with no outs and eventually scored a run on a hit by a pitch to break the tie.

Liberty’s Brynn McManus hit a three-run double later in the inning to push the lead to a game-high four runs, which they took into the bottom of the fifth inning. That stretch would end up being the difference in the final score of the game.

Now, Georgia is looking for revenge as they look to keep their season alive for at least one more game.