By Olivia Sayer
The crowd stands for the National Anthem at Jack Turner Stadium on Monday, April 1. (Photo/Olivia Sayer)
In its final midweek matchup of the season, Georgia softball defeated USC-Upstate 8-0 in six innings Wednesday evening at Jack Turner Stadium. The Bulldogs have three conference series remaining before tournament play begins.
In what looked to be a pitchers’ duel, Georgia broke through in the fourth inning. After a leadoff walk by Lyndi Rae Davis and a single from Jayda Kearney, Sara Mosley cleared the bases with a shot just over the center field wall, giving Georgia a 3-0 lead.
Mosley is having an impressive season for the Bulldogs, as she leads the team with 53 RBIs and is second on the team with 13 home runs. Coming into the matchup, she had the 13th most RBIs in the nation and was third in the SEC in the category.
Her three-run blast in the fourth inning was the 58th home run of her career, which tied her with Alisa Goler for the second-most homers hit at Georgia.
“I thought we had a lot of good at-bats the first time through the order,” head coach Tony Baldwin said. “But the second time we started to capitalize on them.”
The Bulldogs continued to capitalize in the fifth, when an error on USC-Upstate’s catcher allowed Ellie Armistead to come home. The Spartan threw what looked to be a standard toss back to the pitcher during an at-bat. However, the throw went to the second baseman, who’s attempt to throw home was late. The unique situation gave Georgia a five-run lead.
The Bulldogs plated three more to officially enter run-rule territory. After Sarah Gordon led the sixth inning off with a home run, a single by Kuma put a runner on first with nobody out. Two batters later, Tyler Ellison entered the game as a pinch-hitter. She laced the ball past a diving Spartan third baseman to score Kuma and walk the game off in six innings.
The opportunity to pinch-hit provided Ellison with an experience that could reappear once postseason play begins. Georgia has heavily leaned on its depth this season, as evidenced by the 13 position players used by the Bulldogs against USC-Upstate.
In the circle, Lilli Backes’ four innings of relief earned her the win. Backes has been a steady presence out of Georgia’s bullpen, as her five saves are second-most in the SEC. She is also tied for third for saves in a single season at Georgia.
The Bulldogs next host Missouri for a three game series Friday. Georgia will cherish the opportunity to play in front of its home crowd, after dropping back-to-back conference series on the road.
“We’re gonna come and have to fight like heck and play well to get the outcomes that we want,” Baldwin said. “But we’re looking forward to being home for sure.”
First pitch for game one against the Tigers is set for 6 p.m. at Jack Turner Stadium.