Georgia On A Roll Heading Into Home Tournament #2
February 20, 2003 | Softball
Feb. 20, 2003
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Next Up: Georgia Home Tournament #2
Georgia will host the second of its three home tournaments this weekend with Connecticut, Winthrop and Appalachian State all coming to town for competition. The Bulldogs hold a 7-1 record combined versus Appalachian State and Winthrop and will face UConn for the first time. Georgia is a perfect 4-0 against the Mountaineers and 3-1 against the Eagles. Coach Lu Harris-Champer will be facing UConn for the first time in her career as well, but hold a 7-0 edge over App. State and Winthrop. Georgia will enter the tournament with an eight-game winning streak. Winthrop will come to town with a 1-4 record after losing four of its five games in the past weekend's Bama Bash hosted by Alabama. App. State was scheduled to have played Lenoir-Rhyne today, but the game was postponed until Feb. 27. UConn will be playing for the first time this season in the tournament.
Georgia vs. Appalachian State
Date Result Location 2/4/2001 W, 13-2 in Athens, 1st game of regular season doubleheader. 2/4/2001 W, 7-4 in Athens, 2nd game of regular season doubleheader. 2/22/2002 W, 10-0 in Athens at Georgia Bulldog Classic. 2/23/2002 W, 9-0 in Athens at Georgia Bulldog Classic. Georgia vs. Winthrop
Date Result Location 2/26/1998 L, 0-1 in Rock Hill, S.C., 1st game of regular season doubleheader. 2/26/1998 W, 1-0 in Rock Hill, S.C., 2nd game of regular season doubleheader. 3/27/2002 W, 9-0 in Athens, 1st game of regular season doubleheader. 3/27/2002 W, 10-0 in Athens, 2nd game of regular season doubleheader.
Last Time Out: Bulldogs Sweep First Georgia Home Tournament
The No. 17 Georgia Bulldog softball team swept its first of three home tournaments this past weekend, winning all four games it played. Georgia was scheduled to play one more game on Sunday, but inclement weather kept the Bulldogs from facing Maryland in the championship game.
The games got started a little early with Georgia and Drexel adding a non-tournament game versus each other on Thursday. Lacey Gardner and Laurie Davidson combined for the two-hit shutout. The Bulldogs put up a team record 10-run inning in the 1st and every player on the roster played in the game. As a team, Georgia was 12-for-23 (.521) at the plate.
The Bulldogs continued to roll on Friday with two more shutouts. In the first game, Michelle Green was one walk away from a perfect game against Boston College, striking 11 of her 19 batters faced. Georgia lit up the Eagles for 10 hits and 11 runs in six innings. Nicole Barber led the team at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three RBI and two stolen bases. In the night cap, Gardner threw a complete-game, two-hit shutout while striking out a career-high nine in the 3-0 win over Drexel. Courtney Knight went 3-for-4 and was just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle.
On Saturday, Georgia gave up its first runs (both unearned) in a week as it defeated Maryland 6-2 to capture the top seed. Green gave up just three hits while striking out eight en route to winning her seventh game of the season. She also had a hit and three RBI. Also, Ashley Godfrey hit the first home run of her career. In the first bracket play game, the Bulldogs took on No. 4 seed Drexel for the third time in as many days. Gardner had another complete-game shutout, giving up just three hits and striking out five. Kim Wendland went 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI.
On Sunday, Boston College and Drexel were scheduled to face off in the consolation game followed by Georgia and Maryland in the championship game, but heavy rains in Athens forced the games to be cancelled. Georgia finished with the tournament-best 4-0 record, followed by Maryland and Boston College at 2-2, and Drexel at 0-4.
Complete Bulldog Domination
The Bulldogs are hot on the field right now, outscoring their last seven opponents by a whopping 56-2 mark. The only two runs came against Maryland and both were unearned. In those seven games, only three have gone the full seven innings. Over the entire season, Georgia is outscoring opponents 82-13 and outhitting opponents 126 to 44 (.328 batting average compared to .133).
Swinging Away At The Plate
The Georgia softball must be seeing the ball very well right now as the team has a batting average of .328 (126-for-384) with 11 players batting over .300. Georgia's top hitter by batting average is Jessica Malcom who is hitting .667 (2-for-3). For players with at least 10 at bats, Nicole Barber leads the squad with a .438 batting average, going 21-for-48 at the plate.
While the Bulldogs are hitting very well right now, the opposition is not. Georgia pitchers have allowed just 44 hits in 332 at bats (.133). No Bulldog pitcher is allowing the opponents to bat .200. Laurie Davidson is yet to give up a hit in her six innings of work, while Lacey Gardner has given up only 11 hits in 108 at bats. Michelle Green has the highest opposing batting average with .170, but has faced 210 battersalmost twice the number Gardner has faced and almost nine time more than Davidson.
On a Hot Streak
The Bulldogs have won eight straight since losing to Oregon on February 8th, which is good enough for the third longest winning streak for the Georgia softball program.
The longest winning streak came last season when Georgia won 25 consecutive games dating from 5/6/2001 (last game of season) to 3/3/2002. The Bulldogs also won 10 straight last season from 3/13 to 3/23 for the second best mark. Georgia also won 10 straight in the 1998 season (3/22-4/5).
Shutting Out the Opposition
Georgia has already tallied eight shutouts this season in just 14 games, including a streak of five straight shutouts, which has never been done before it Bulldog history. Georgia threw 23 shutouts in all of last season, a total of 76 games. It's a little early, but if the Bulldogs continue at this pace, they will throw 42 shutouts this season which would set a new SEC record and be five shy from the NCAA record.
Michelle Green had eight shutouts in her 30 appearances last season, but has already tallied 3.5 shutouts in eight appearances this season. Lacey Gardner has three so far in '03, almost half as many as she threw in all of 2002 (6.5).
On the Run Again
Georgia was caught stealing three time last weekend at the Seminole Classic, but remain near the top of the conference in the stole base department. The Bulldogs are tied for second with 17 stolen bases in 20 attempts. Nicole Barber leads the team with 11. Last season Georgia set the SEC record for most steals in one season with 208, breaking the 142 mark set by LSU in 2000. After last weekend, Georgia trails only Florida in the stolen base category. The Bulldogs have eight, while the Gators have nine.
Georgia Checks in at No. 13 in USA Today/NFCA Top 25
The Georgia softball team jumped four spots to No. 13 in the first USA Today/NFCA Top 25 regular season poll released Wednesday afternoon. The ranking marks the highest in Georgia softball history.
The Bulldogs first entered the rankings last season on February 20th with a ranking of No. 23. Georgia peaked at No. 20 on March 6th before finishing at No. 25 in the final poll of the season. Georgia made its first appearance in the preseason poll this season and checked in tied for 17th, a school best at the time.
1. UCLA
2. Arizona
3. Nebraska
4. Cal
5. Washington
6. Texas
7. Cal State Fullerton
8. DePaul
9. LSU
10. Oklahoma
11. Florida State
12. Stanford
13. Georgia
14. Arizona State
15. Michigan
16. S. Carolina
17. Alabama
18. Oregon State
19. Texas A&M
20. Pacific
21. Ohio State
22. Fresno State
23. Notre Dame
24. Georgia Tech
t25. UMass
t25. Oregon
Shannon McKeon Named SEC Player of the Week
Georgia softball catcher Shannon McKeon became just the seventh Bulldog softball player to earn Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of February 3rd-9th.
The junior from Hollywood, Fla., hit .571 in four games at the Seminole Classic, going 8-for-14 with five RBI, a home run, and one run scored. Behind the plate, McKeon threw out two base stealers in two attempts. Highlighting her weekend stats, McKeon went an impressive 5-for-6 against Oregon on Saturday and knocked in both of the Bulldogs' runs. The five hits in a game set a new Georgia record, while the six at bats tied the Bulldog mark.
The last Georgia player to be named SEC Player of the week was Nicole Barber, who received the accolade on April 8, 2002. Michelle Tyree and Kim Wendland were also named SEC Player of the Week last season. McKeon was given the honors just one week after teammate Michelle Green was named SEC Pitcher of the Week. This marks only the second time that two Georgia players received these two awards in back-to-back weeks.
Michelle Green Takes SEC Pitcher of the Week Honors
Georgia pitcher Michelle Green became the first Bulldog pitcher to receive Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week honors in two seasons. The conference announced the award for the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2.
Green was named pitcher of the week after her performance at Florida International in which she led Georgia to a 5-0 record and a second straight title at the Florida International "Fun 'n Sun" Classic. Green's performance was stellar, pitching complete games in all three of her appearances. She struck out 31 batters while giving up only one run and 11 hits en route to a 3-0 record and a 0.33 ERA. Green also notched two shutouts versus Kentucky and Illinois State.
The last time the SEC named a Georgia player pitcher of the week was in 2001. Nichole Urban received the nod twice that season; the first on April 16 and the other on May 7.
Frank Turner Joins Bulldog Coaching Staff
Frank Turner is the newest addition to the Bulldog coaching staff, serving as a volunteer assistant coach. Turner was approached by Georgia head coach Lu Harris-Champer for the position after he helped out at this past summer's softball camp.
Turner brings to the team a great deal of knowledge about the game from both the player and coach perspectives. His primary responsibility is the Bulldogs' hitting.
Turner's first coaching job was at South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, Ga., a position he held for the 2000 and 2001 seasons, before coming to Georgia. In his second season with South Gwinnett, the Lady Comets won the Georgia Class 8-AAAAA Region Championship.
A 1972 graduate of Central High School in Macon, Ga., Turner was gifted on the playing field. He was a three-year letterman in baseball and a one-year letterman in football. From there, Turner went on to play baseball on the collegiate level at Georgia Tech. A shortstop for the yellow jackets from 1973-1976, Turner was named to the All-District Team in his junior season (during those years Georgia Tech competed independently of a college conference).
Turner has one daughter, Jessica, who is a sophomore at Georgia and works as a student assistant with the Athletic Association.
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