University of Georgia Athletics
Mississippi State Game Notes
March 13, 2003 | Softball
March 13, 2003
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Next Up: Bulldogs Hit Road For Two Series Stretch
Fresh off their sweep of Auburn, the No. Georgia Softball team will hit the road for the next two series, with Mississippi State this weekend and Kentucky next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Up first is the western Bulldogs of Mississippi State, who may be one of the hottest teams in conference this season. Going into MSU's series with South Carolina last weekend, the Bulldogs had won 10 straight to take second place in the west with a 15-5 record. The Gamecocks took two of the three games over Mississippi State in the series. MSU's success comes as Jay Miller, who was the longtime coach at Missouri, taking the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and two berths in the Women's College World Series.
Prior to Miller's arrival, Mississippi State made the NCAA Regionals three times under head coach Kathy Arendsen. Last season, the Bulldogs went 36-31 while going 1-2 in the NCAA Regional Mississippi State leads the series with Georgia by a lopsided 14-3 record versus Georgia.
Two of Georgia's wins came last season as the Bulldogs of the east went 2-2 with their counterparts from the west. MSU won the regular season series, going 2-1 against Georgia, but the Georgia took the second round matchup in the SEC Tournament.
Date Result Notes
Mar. 23 UGA, 3-1 Lacey Gardner throws a one-hitter; Kim Wendland & Katie Lewis
both go 2-for-3.
Mar. 23 MSU, 2-1 Michelle Green gave up two runs on six hits; UGA left 10 on
base, scoring just one run on eight hits.
Mar. 24 MSU, 4-3 Gardner gave up four runs on five hits in just three innings
of relief; UGA strands 12 runners.
May 11 UGA, 7-1 Nichole Urban goes distance, giving up just three hits; Nicole Barber
is 3-for-4 with two runs; Green is 2-for-3 with two RBI; Wendland is
2-for-4 with two RBI
Georgia-Mississippi State Common Opponents
Georgia and Mississippi State have more than just a mascot in common. So far this season, the two teams have two non-conference opponents in common as well. Both sets of Bulldogs have faced Texas A&M and Florida State this season. Georgia is 2-1 against the pair, defeating No. 9 Florida State 5-4 (8) and No. 21 Texas A&M 2-1 (8), but Georgia also lost to the Aggies, 3-1 (8) in the championship game of the Stanford Classic.
Mississippi State's Bulldogs are 2-0 against the Seminoles and Aggies. These Bulldogs defeated No. 24 Texas A&M 5-2 early in the season and No. 15 Florida State 3-1 two weeks ago.
Georgia Racking Up the Miles on SEC Road Swing
Georgia will be travelling by bus for this spring break road trip and will ride for 1,277.25 miles to face Mississippi State and Kentucky. That is almost equivalent to driving from Athens to the New Mexico-Texas border (to drive to Amarillo, Texas is 1,244 miles). If you want to measure as the crow flies, Athens to Denver, Colo. would be pretty close (1,252 miles).
Now, this isn't the longest trip. The Bulldogs went to Palo Alto, Calif., which is 2,177 miles as the crow flies, but the team took a five-hour flight to get there and back. Assuming the bus driver averages 60 m.p.h., Georgia will ride for on the bus for 21 hours, 17 minutes, and 15 seconds.
Bulldogs Sweep Auburn Tigers To Open SEC Schedule
The No. 10 Georgia Bulldog softball season started the Southeastern Conference portion of its schedule with a bang, defeating Auburn 7-1, 10-0 (5) in a double header on Saturday at the Women's Athletic Complex. Shannon McKeon and Julie Milner highlighted the games for Georgia as each had a multiple RBI home run in each game. The Bulldogs then completed the sweep of Auburn as they defeated the Tigers 9-4 Sunday. Nicole Barber stole two bases in the win to take sole possession of the SEC career record with 157 steals.
Lacey Gardner (8-1) threw a complete-game shutout for Georgia in the second game, allowing just three Auburn hits, the Tigers' only base runners while striking out seven. Milner and McKeon led the Bulldogs at the plate. Milner went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer in the bottom of the second. McKeon reached base and score in all three of her plate appearances. She reached on a walk and hit by pitch her first two times up, and then hit a towering three-RBI shot that cleared the score board in left field.
Green went the distance in the first game Saturday, giving up just one-run over seven innings on just two Auburn hits. Milner and McKeon led the team at the plate again. Milner went 1-for-3, but her one hit was a three-run shot in the bottom of the sixth. McKeon was 1-for-3 as well, but had a three-run shot in the fourth that cleared the scoreboard.
Also, Nicole Barber stole her 28th base of this season in the second game. It gave her 155 in her career, tying the SEC record for most stolen bases in a career.
On Sunday, Michelle Green (W, 15-2) pitched 6 2/3 innings in the win, striking out thirteen. She gave up four runs for only the second time this season with the first coming against Florida State on February 8th. Nicole Barber led the Bulldogs at the plate, going 3-for-4 while scoring three runs and stealing two bases. Barber's first stolen base, which came in the bottom of the fourth, gave her 156 career stolen bases and gave her SEC record. Green's 13 strikeouts, brings her season total to 172, eclipsing her 155 strikeouts in all of last season.
Nicole Barber Sets New SEC Career Stolen Base Record
Junior Nicole Barber added yet another record to impressive softball resume. With her three steals this weekend, Barber brought her career total to 157, passing Dee Douglas of LSU for the SEC Career steals record. Douglas had 155 for the Tigers from 1998-2001.
Barber, who set the SEC record for steals in a season in each of the past two and also set the NCAA record for most consecutive stolen bases with 73, now sits in seventh place on the NCAA Division I Career Steals list. She needs just four more to tie for fifth place, and just forty more to take sole possession on the record.
Georgia Is Shutting Down And Shutting Out Opponents
The Bulldogs are hot on the field right now as they have outscored their opponents by a whopping 131-13 mark over the past 20 games with a 18-2 record. In those 20 games, five have been no-hitters. Over the entire season, Georgia is outscoring opponents 157-24 and outhitting opponents 218 to 77 (.311 batting average compared to .124). The Bulldogs have also already tallied 16 shutouts in 27 games, including a streak of six 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.
Michelle Green had eight shutouts in her 30 appearances last season, but has already equalled that mark in just 17 appearances this season. Lacey Gardner has five so far in '03, more than half as many as she threw in all of 2002 (6.5).
Pitching Staff Still Dominating Opposition
Despite being so far into to the season, the Bulldog pitching staff is still dominating its opponents. The group's ERA is just 0.54 and its opponent's batting average is just .124. Lacey Gardner leads the starters with a 0.42 ERA and .120 opp. batting avg. Michelle Green is next with a 0.59 ERA and .137 batting average for opponents. Laurie Davidson leads the staff overall with a 0.00 ERA as she has yet to give up a run in her 11.1 innings of work.
Bulldogs Say "No Hits For You"
So far this season, there have been eight no-hitters in the SEC and all have been thrown by either Georgia or LSU. However, the Bulldogs led the Tigers with five no-hitters to three for LSU. In the history of the SEC, there has been 56 no-hitters thrown and just eight of them have come from the Bulldogs. Here's a quick look at Georgia's no-hitters this season:
Date Opponent Score Notes Feb. 9 S.E. Louisiana 13-0 (5) Lacey Gardner & Laurie Davidson combine for no-no; Allowed just five baserunners: Two on errors, two on a fielder's choice, one by a hit-by-pitch. Feb. 14 Boston College 11-0 (6) Michelle Green threw complete-game no- no; Allowed just two baserunners: one reached with walk, other on fielder's choice. Feb. 21 App. State 6-0 Gardner & Davidson combined no-no; Only four baserunners: two on walks; one on an error; one on a fielder's choice. Feb. 23 App. State 8-0 (5) Green complete-game no-no; Tied school record with 13 strikeouts; One base runner reached on error to prevent perfect game. Mar. 1 No.11 Stanford 2-0 Green complete-game no-no with 13 strikeouts again; Seven base runners for Cardinal--six reached with walks, one with hit-by-pitch.
Georgia is Hitting With Its Best Shot
The old sports adage say defense wins you championships, but having a little offense never hurts. And right now, the Bulldog offense is definitely clicking. As a team, Georgia is batting .311, best in the SEC, and has a team slugging percentage of .469. Only one other team in the conference is batting better than .300 and that happens to be the other Bulldogs of Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs have tallied 218 hits in 702 at bats with 30 doubles, nine triples and 21 home runs. Ten Georgia players have batting averages of .300 or better and Nicole Barber is batting over .400. Barber's .444 batting average leads the SEC and she is just one of six conference players above the .400 mark. Barber also leads the conference in number of hits with 40 in just 90 at bats.
On the Run Again
Georgia struggled, by Bulldog standards, in the stolen base department against Auburn with four steals in seven attempts. However, the Bulldogs still lead SEC with 64 stolen bases in 75 attempts. Nicole Barber leads the team and conference with 30 steals in 33 attempts. The next closest team is Florida who is 50-68 and the next closest player is Iyhia McMichael of Mississippi State, who is 14-14 . Last season Georgia set the SEC record for most steals in one season with 208, breaking the 142 mark set by LSU in 2000, while Barber has set the SEC single season record in each of her two years and now has the SEC Career steals record. Barber also set the NCAA record for consecutive steals.
Bulldogs' Non-Conference Opponents Successful Versus SEC
Georgia has a 6-2 record so far this season against its opponents that have wins over other SEC schools. The Bulldogs have wins over Boston College, Florida State, Florida International (2), Illinois State and Stanford, all of which have wins over teams in the SEC. Georgia also dropped a 3-2, 12 inning decision to Oregon that has another win over the SEC.
Georgia Non-Conference Foes With Wins over the SEC
Boston College defeated South Carolina, 3-2.
Florida State defeated Auburn, 8-0 and 3-2.
Oregon defeated Kentucky, 5-1.
Florida International defeated Alabama, 1-0.
Illinois State defeated Kentucky, 8-1 and 4-3.
Stanford defeated Kentucky, 8-0 (5) and 4-1.
Bulldogs In The Polls: Georgia Remains in 10th and 11th NFCA/USA Today Top 25
1. UCLA (16)
2. Arizona (4)
3. Nebraska
4. Texas
5. Washington
6. Oklahoma
7. California
8. Louisiana State
9. Cal State Fullerton
10. Georgia
11. Stanford
12. Arizona State
13. DePaul
14. Michigan
15. South Carolina
16. Florida State
17. Oregon State
18. Ohio State
19. Alabama
20. Texas A&M
21. South Florida
22. Oregon
23. Oklahoma State
24. Massachusetts
25. Kansas
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
t1. Arizona (10)
t1. UCLA (8)
3. Texas
4. Nebraska
5. Washington
6. Oklahoma
7. California
8. Cal State Fullerton
9. Louisiana State
10. Stanford
11. Georgia
12. Arizona State
13. DePaul
14. South Carolina
15. Michigan
16. Florida State
17. Oregon State
18. Alabama
19. Texas A&M
20. Ohio State
21. Oklahoma State
22. Oregon
23. Massachusetts
24. South Florida
25. Northwestern
Note: () represents first place votes
Michelle Green Takes SEC Pitcher of the Week Honors After Going 3-1 in Stanford Classic
Georgia pitcher Michelle Green was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season as the conference announced the award Monday. She becomes just the third Georgia pitcher in history to be named to the award more than once.
Green earned the award following her performance in the Stanford Classic this past weekend where she went 3-1 notching two complete game shutouts, a no-hitter and 48 strikeouts. Her three wins came against No. 10/11 Stanford, No. 20/21 Texas A&M, and Long Beach State. Green's first shutout came against Long Beach State as she struck out 15 batters, tying the Georgia single-game strikeout record and setting a new individual pitching record. Green's second shutout came as she no-hit the Stanford Cardinal and struck out 13 en route to the win. The no-no marked her third this season and fourth in her career. It also marked her eighth shutout of the season, the same number she had in all of last season. Green also struck out 13 in the tournament's championship game, but lost the decision 3-1 in eight innings to Texas A&M.
Only two other Georgia pitchers have earned the award more than once. Nichole Urban took the honor twice in the 2001 season while Natalie Price won the award five times-twice in 2000 and three times in 1999.
Green received the award for the first time for the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2. At that time she was the first Bulldog pitcher to receive Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week honors in two seasons. She 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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