GAINSVILLE, Fl.-The University of Georgia Softball Team (40-16, 12-12 SEC) took a 9-5 loss to The University of Mississippi (39-17, 12-12 SEC) Wednesday for their tournament opener.
There was no shortage of offense from either squad. Between both sides, there were 14 runs on 22 hits. The Dawgs plated five runs on 14 hits to complete their line score. Ellie Armistead, hailing from Matthews, Virginia, led the lineup going 4-for-4 with an RBI Armistead was the definition of death by single as the Rebels couldn’t keep her off the base paths. The Ellijay, Georgia native Sarah Mosley also swung the big stick, going 3-for-5 with two multi-base hits. Mosley had an RBI and a run scored on her solo shot over the left-field wall. She was also one of two Dawgs to stroke a double. Both the Columbus, New Jersey native Jada Kearney and the Calhoun native Lyndi Rae Davis hit .500 in the contest. Kearney was the second Bulldog hitter with a double and she was the only player to come across and score twice. Davis had two base knocks and an RBI on the night.
“I knew Anna (Borgen) was an inside pitcher,” said Armistead. “She likes inside so I just knew to stay disciplined in my at-bats and just get inside the ball. The balls fell so it worked out in my favor.”
The Bulldogs gave the start to the ace of the season, Madison Kerpics, hailing from Suwanee. Kerpics (18-8) allowed six earned runs on five hits in 2.2 innings of work. The Dawgs used a total of three pitchers to complete the contest including the Windermere, Florida, native Lauren Mathis, who closed out the contest. Mathis (4-3) was lights out in her 2.1 innings pitched, allowing zero runs on one hit. The biggest thing that plagued the UGA defense was the free passes given up by the pitching staff. There was a total of 10 walks and one hit by pitch.
“At the end of the day, we gave them too many free passes, said head coach Tony Baldwin. “They were able to capitalize on that but proud of the fight and proud of getting back there. We’ll get the tying run to the plate in the last inning. That’s who we’ve been. We’ve been a really resilient team and we’ll bounce back from this as well.”
The Dawgs are back in action Friday, May 20, at noon to take on Liberty University in game one of the Durham, North Carolina Regional. The game will be held at Duke University.