ATHENS, GA- The Georiga Bulldogs softball mercy-ruled the Georgia Southern Eagles to 9-1 with a grand slam hit by number 11 Lyndi Rae Davis at Jack Turner Stadium on Wednesday the 12th. The Bulldogs advance their season record to 32-8 while beating the Eagles for the 24th time in a row.
Head Coach Tony Baldwin has been challenging the Bulldogs with their discipline all season long and in tonight’s game, he believes that they showed that by taking” walks, hit by pitches, forcing them to eventually cross the plate and when they did we put some pretty good swings on it.”
Madison Kerpics, number 30 for the Georgia Bulldogs, had eight strikeouts in tonight’s game, leading Georgia’s defense in a dominant game. But, according to Baldwin, the Bulldogs had to get used to the mix-match pitching that Georiga Southern was throwing after focusing on Flordia’s pitching this week in practice.
Baldwin thought the Bulldogs were competitive in the circle but unsure if they were as sharp as they could be but “sharp enough.”
The Bulldog’s offense was powerful across tonight’s game, with a total of five runs in the second inning. First, Dallis Goodnight hit a single, which brought home two RBIs to make the game 2-0. Goodnight advanced home with a score on a wild pitch to eventually make the game 5-0.
Georgia Southern struggled to find momentum in tonight’s game after Gerogia’s aggressive second inning. The Eagles switched pitchers three times throughout the night, with Morgan Kendrick walking five batters, which Georgia took advantage of.
Baldwin said that the game changer was Lauren Burnett’s walk to load the bases, which forced Southern to throw a good pitch to Davis, which changed the game. Goodnight and the team called Davis grand slam in the dugout and Goodnight said,” She is so deserving of that grand slam, so it is just exciting.”
The team focused on being in a “good head place, being disciplined in what we do, being resilient and how we respond, and playing Georgia softball,” said Baldwin.
The Bulldogs sealed the game with an out by Kearney, only allowing one run in the last inning.