Tony Baldwin explains in-game adjustments made vs. Liberty pitching staff
Liberty jumped out to a 3-1 run lead after the first three innings against Georgia during Saturday’s matchup at the 2024 Athens Regional.
After letting up a lead-off home run in the first inning, Flames pitcher Kaylan Yoder kept the Bulldogs quiet through three innings. Ahead of the fourth inning, Bulldogs head coach Tony Baldwin explained the adjustments he wanted his team to make in the second half of Saturday’s game.
“Their pitcher has a good spin and she’s done pretty well,” Baldwin said, arriving at the game just hours after watching his daughter graduate high school. “And so we’ll just make some adjustments here in the second time through the order and just keep competing.”
Baldwin’s Bulldogs took this advice and ran with it. 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.
Liberty head 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.
Richardson’s positivity during the interview appeared to become infectious as 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.
You can watch the exciting finish to the Georgia-Liberty NCAA Tournament matchup live on ESPN+.
Georgia, the No. 11 seed in the tournament and the regional host defeated UNCW 8-0 win five innings on Friday to advance in the bracket. Liberty took down Charlotte 6-3 in their respective opener. The winner of this matchup could go a long way in determining who advances to the Super Regional in this year’s tournament.