FSU Tournament Notes

Feb. 7, 2003

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Next Up: Seminole Classic at Florida State University

Georgia will compete in the Seminole Classic for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Bulldogs won the tournament, emerging still undefeated with a 15-0 record. Georgia is 2-3 versus Florida St. and will face the other three teams for the first time while head coach Lu Harris-Champer has a record of 18-1 versus FSU, Oregon, S.E. Louisiana and Florida A&M. Here's a recap of Georgia's performance last season in the Seminole Classic:

Date Team Result Record 2/15 vs. No. 15 FSU W, 3-2 11-0
Gardner pitches CG 2-hitter; Wendland,
Bell, McKeon all go 2-3 & tally all 3 RBI

2/16 vs. Penn State W, 3-0 12-0
Green pitches CG 1-hitter; Wendland goes 2-3,
scores twice

2/16 vs. Syracuse W, 2-1 13-0
Wendland goes 2-3 with one home run

2/17 vs. Maryland W, 4-2 14-0
Green throws CG and k's six

2/17 vs. St. John's W, 9-1 15-0
Barber is 2-3, accounts for 4 RBI;
Wendland, Green go 2-3, account for 2 runs, 3 RBI

Tournament Notes

Florida State will mark the first ranked opponent Georgia has faced this season. In the preseason NFCA/USA Today Top 25, the Seminoles check in at No. 9. Last season FSU was a College World Series Semifinalist.
In the five games Georgia has played FSU, the Seminoles have outscored the Bulldogs 19-13. In 1998, FSU defeated Georgia 6-5. In 1999, the teams played three times. FSU won the first meeting 5-0, Georgia won the second 5-0, and FSU won the third 6-0. The fifth meeting was last year in this tournament.
Coach Harris-Champer has never lost to the Seminoles in her six years of coaching. She was 3-0 versus them at Southern Miss and won last season with Georgia. Harris-Champer is 4-0 against Oregon, 2-0 against Florida A&M, and 8-1 against S.E. Louisiana.
Statistically speaking, there could be a lot of stolen bases this weekend. Florida A&M finished 7th in the nation last season in stolen bases with 134 (2.23 per game), while Georgia finished 3rd with 208 (2.72 per game). Also, three of the nation's best base stealers will be present. Georgia's Nicole Barber finished first in the nation with 71 (0.93 per game); Eria Williams of Flordia A&M was 7th in the nation with 40 (0.68 per game); and FSU's Brandi Stuart was 5th with 54 (0.72 per game).

Michelle Green Named SEC Pitcher of the Week

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 Tuesday.

"I'm very proud of her efforts," said Georgia coach Lu Harris-Champer. "It's nice to see her hard work paying off."

Green was named pitcher of the week after her performance this past weekend 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.

Deja Vu in Miami

For the second consecutive season, the Georgia softball team captured the "Fun 'n Sun" Classic title in Miami. Michelle Green threw three complete games, giving up just one run and striking out 31 batters, while Ashley Godfrey led the way at the plate going 7-for-15 with 4 RBI as the Bulldogs took all five games in the tournament. Georgia outscored its opponents by an impressive 19-4 mark.

The Bulldogs got started in an impressive fashion on Friday outscoring Kentucky and Florida International 8-1. Michelle Green pitched a complete-game three hitter against Kentucky, while striking out a career-best 12 batters, one shy of the Georgia record. Green also led the way at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run and one RBI. In the evening game, Lacey Gardner threw a complete game for the 3-1 win, while Michelle Tyree went 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBI.

On Saturday, Georgia took two more wins a 1-0 win over Illinois State and a 5-2 win over No. 4 seed Kentucky in bracket play. Green was almost perfect, throwing a complete-game two-hitter against Illinois State, while Godfrey went 3-for-3 with a double and a triple and scored three times.

The Bulldogs faced FIU in the championships game on Sunday and Green took the 5-1 win with another complete-game, while Godfrey had a repeat performance, going 3-for-3 again with three RBI and a stolen base. Tyree notched her second home run of the season against the Golden Panthers.

Four Bulldogs Capture All-Tournament Honors

For their efforts Godfrey, Tyree, Courtney Knight, and Green were named members of the All-Tournament team. Green was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Godfrey had a big weekend for the Dogs, going 7-for-15 (.467) with one double and triple, and four runs scored. Tyree finished the tournament with two home runs, five RBI and a 1.000 slugging percentage. Knight was 4-for-14 with one double and two RBI.

Green also had a big weekend for the Bulldogs, throwing two complete game shutouts. She allowed only one run and 11 hits in 21.0 innings, striking out 31 opposing batters.

On the Run Again

Georgia was perfect in the stolen base department this past weekend, successfully stealing eight bases in as many attempts. Nicole Barber accounted for six of them, while Ashley Godfrey and Courtney Logan each had one apiece. 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.

Shattering the Record Books

If this year's team is to break any Georgia records, it's going to have to work hard. The 2002 squad broke over 55 team and individual records. On top of that, last year's team captured Georgia's first ever post-season wins by advancing to the finals of the SEC Tournament and then winning two more games in the NCAA Regionals. The 2002 Bulldogs also garnered the program's first ever appearance in the national rankings and finished the season ranked No. 22 in NFCA/USA Today Top 25.

And it was not just the Georgia record book that was re-worked as some of the Bulldogs found their way into the Southeastern Conference and NCAA record books.

Nicole Barber broke her own SEC record for most steals in a season with 71 in 2002. Barber also broke the conference record for hits with 105. In the NCAA record book, Barber set a new mark for most consecutive stolen bases with 73.

In the conference record book, Barber set new marks in hits with 105 and stolen bases with 71, which broke her record-setting 56 from the previous season. Barber, Michelle Green and Katie Lewis all set new records for the SEC Tournament. Barber set the record for most hits (12), triples (2), total bases (17), and stolen bases (5). Lewis tied the record for most sacrifice hits (3) and Green tied the mark for most doubles (3).

Georgia Makes First Pre-Season Poll Debut

The Bulldogs appeared in the USA Today/NFCA Pre-Season Coaches poll for the first time in team history at No. 17. Last year, Georgia entered the Top-25 for the first time when the first regular-season poll was released after the third week of the season. At the conclusion of the 2002 season Georgia finished ranked 22nd nationally. Pre-Season Top-25:
1. UCLA
2. Arizona
3. Cal
t4. Michigan
t4. Nebraska
6. Washington
7. LSU
8. Oklahoma
9. Florida State
10. Cal State Fullerton
11. Depaul
12. Texas
13. Arizona State
14. Stanford
15. Fresno State
16. Ohio State
t17.Notre Dame
t17.Georgia
19. Georgia Tech
20. South Carolina
21. Pacific
22. Alabama
23. Oregon State
24. Texas A&M
25. UMass

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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