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Georgia's bats return, level series against Florida

by:Tara Henry•04/27/24
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Photo: Georgia Athletics

The Bulldogs are back. They made sure everyone knew it. Georgia blasted five home runs to even the series against Florida in an exciting 11-6 victory and break the dam of doubt. The stands were packed to the brim with 1,847 fans to witness it.

The ball flew out of the yard during the Saturday matinee with eight home runs between the two squads.

The UGA seniors tallied 10 of the 12 hits as Jayda Kearney, Sara Mosley, Sydney Kuma, and Jaiden Fields all homered and were the stars.

“I’m just proud of the resilience that we showed. Sometimes when you’re in a tough spot, the first sign of adversity just reverts back to you thinking, ‘here we go again.’ But I thought we really dug in today and competed,” Georgia head coach Tony Baldwin said. “Really proud of our seniors. And you know, just fun to see them settle in and just play softball. To let some of the burden go and just compete. When we play with that kind of freedom, we can be a pretty good team and then really excited for Lilli [Backes]. We’re a little short-staffed right now and she’s carrying the load. She was out there just gritting her teeth and getting the job done. So super proud of her and good team win today.”

How it happened: Georgia didn’t waste any time, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead. Mosley reached on a single to left and scored on a Kuma triple down the left-field line. But just when it seemed like the Bulldogs might be taking control, Florida struck back in the fourth inning with a grand slam off the bat of Ariel Kowalewski. That temporarily shifted the momentum as the Gators took a 4-1 lead.

Georgia was at a crossroads, poised to either respond or let the game slip away. In the pivotal moment in the bottom of the fourth, Kuma stepped up to the plate and seized back the momentum smashing a first-pitch two-run home run deep into center field, narrowing the Bulldogs’ deficit to just one.

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In an explosive fifth inning, Georgia’s back-to-back home runs set the tone, followed by a hit-by-pitch and then Jaiden Fields’ line drive two-run blast. How did they put it all together? Georgia capitalized on advantage counts with six of the 11 batters hitting early in the count.

Ava Brown’s home run in the sixth halved the lead to 10-5, Mosley answered in right back with a solo shot of her own in the bottom of the inning.

Mosley is heating up at the plate going 3-for-4 with three RBI and four runs scored. 

Head coach Tony Baldwin was happy with the way his team responded after suffering a run-rule loss on Friday.

Defensive play of the game: Ellie Armistead’s dive up the middle in the third to get the force out mid-slide. Serious style to get out of the inning.

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