University of Georgia Athletics
Freshmen Deliver In Softball Opener
February 12, 2016 | Softball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
The heart of the lineup for the Georgia softball team is back in 2016. There's super-slugger Alex Hugo and ace pitcher Chelsea Wilkinson, plus the base-reaching and base-stealing Emanuel sisters, Sydni and Cortni. Those four alone will earn the No. 12-ranked Bulldogs a lot of victories.
Georgia also has other veterans throughout the lineup, until you get to the left side of the infield, where freshmen occupy shortstop (Lacey Sumerlin) and third base (Alyssa DiCarlo). Two critical positions on a veteran team with high expectations have been entrusted to a pair of first-year players.
After watching the Bulldogs in their season-opening 9-0 win over Elon on Friday night at Jack Turner Stadium, the left side appears in good hands. DiCarlo and Sumerlin took care of business defensively and DiCarlo was one of the stars at the plate.
"We worked really hard with [the freshmen] on communication in the infield and really getting that synergy with our team, and I think they were definitely prepared for today," said senior first baseman Tina Iosefa, who belted a three-run homer in the fourth inning.
In Friday's opener, part of the Red & Black Showcase that continues Saturday and Sunday, Georgia loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning with three walks. Stepping into the batter's box then, with one out, was a freshman making her first career plate appearance — and DiCarlo ultimately handled it like a veteran.
"She definitely settled in in that at-bat and we talked about that afterward. Coach [Lu Harris-Champer] said, I love the way that you just relaxed and settled in," said the second baseman Hugo, a senior, who led the SEC with 22 home runs last season.
The right-hander said she was "shaking" due to nerves at the start of the at-bat. She took a big swing and missed on pitcher Kayla Caruso's first offering. The second was a ball outside, followed by an even bigger swing and miss on a high, slow one. With the count 1-2 DiCarlo had to play some defense, fighting off one pitch, taking a ball inside and fighting off another.
Then came a low pitch DiCarlo could do something with — not drive it into the outfield seats but put it in play — and she delivered a two-run single up the middle to kick off the Bulldogs' scoring, and technically driving in the winning runs.
"After I swung big swings on those pitches I just thought, I've got to calm it down," DiCarlo, from Glendale, Ariz. "Then I was seeing balls and strikes; just calm the nerves and see the ball and hit it. Just do what I've always been doing."
DiCarlo hit the ball a lot harder in her second at-bat, drilling a double off the right-field walk to kickstart a two-run third inning and a 6-0 lead. It was clearly well hit but did she think it was gone?
"I did for a second but, you know, you've just got to run it," she said.
DiCarlo added a walk in her final at-bat to complete a stellar debut at the plate.
Defensively, Sumerlin and DiCarlo were sharp throughout, combining for three putouts and five assists on outs. As a team Georgia held the Phoenix to just one hit and one baserunner.
"The way that they play is just very free and confident," Hugo said of DiCarlo and Sumerlin. "Any other person looking in on it would say, hey, they're freshmen and maybe it's a little shaky, but they don't make it look shaky at all."
No part of Georgia's game was shaky Friday, shutting out the Phoenix in five innings. Starts don't go much better.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
