University of Georgia Athletics
Seniors All Have Their Moments
May 23, 2016 | Softball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Sunday was one more day at the park for the Georgia softball team, one last day at the park for the seniors.
About 20 minutes before the No. 16-seeded Bulldogs hosted Oklahoma State in the NCAA Athens Regional Championship at Jack Turner Stadium -- the first of two games, as it turned out -- two Bulldogs were playing catch in the outfield. Nothing unusual about that, right?
It was seniors Alex Hugo and Samantha LaZear, and they were throwing a football. And really throwing it. For a good chunk of their lives they've been zipping softballs around the field, but these pregame passes were 35-yard tight spirals that the 2015 version of Peyton Manning would have envied.
Hugo said she was given the football for Senior Day and the throws have become a regular pregame thing ever since.
"We just mess around and kind of get our mind off of things, pressure-wise," Hugo said after the Bulldogs (43-18) clinched a spot in a Super Regional with a 6-0 win over the Cowgirls in the deciding game Sunday. "I don't like sitting (in the dugout) when we're waiting, so I like getting out there and throwing the football and running around a little bit."
There are six seniors on Georgia's roster and all of them, whether a starter or a Dog coming in off the bench, contributed Sunday. There's no better sendoff for a senior than making plays in your final home games.
"I can't say enough about our seniors on our team," coach Lu Harris-Champer said. "We love them and I can't believe that's the last game we're going to have on that field with them. They've been amazing for our program and they're absolutely irreplaceable."
In the top of the first inning of game one, with Georgia batting first as the visiting team, Hugo brought in a run with a sacrifice fly, helping the Dogs take a 2-0 lead.
In addition, Tina Iosefa, the Dogs' leading slugger this season who went on to set a new Georgia and SEC single-season record with 86 runs batted in, drew a walk, which wasn't new or interesting. But her stealing second base a few moments later sure was.
"I'm just going out there and having fun with my team," she said.
It was Iosefa's first steal of the season, on her second attempt. In fact, it was her first steal since May 18, 2014, when as a sophomore swiped a base in a 9-1 win over N.C. State in an NCAA Regional game in Athens. She also hit a home run in that game, just as she did in Sunday's deciding game.
Iosefa hit her 23rd homer of the season in game two, after the Cowgirls had rallied from the 2-0 hole to beat Georgia 5-3. Oklahoma State's win forced a winner-take-all game, which the Bulldogs dominated, winning 6-0. And Iosefa was just one of the seniors making that happen.
In the bottom of the first inning of game two, with freshman Alyssa DiCarlo on third, Iosefa belted a homer just inside the left-field foul pole, giving Georgia a 2-0 lead. It turned out to be more than enough.
Senior pitcher Chelsea Wilkinson was in the circle for game two, and made the most of her final Turner Stadium start. She allowed only four hits and struck out nine for her 25th win of the season. But it wasn't always easy.
In the second the Cowgirls got two on with nobody out -- a threatening situation. Wilkinson responded by striking out the next three batters. Threat removed.
"I just kept telling myself, `bear down,'" Wilkinson said, while Harris-Champer praised Wilkinson for her "grit."
It was still 2-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, when Georgia put the game away for good -- and all with two outs.
Senior Kaylee Puailoa came in to pinch hit and drew a walk. Next up was LaZear, who singled to center field. That's two on with two out for junior Sydni Emanuel, who singled, loading the bases for her sister, Cortni, a sophomore. Cortni and the Dogs got a little lucky when a sharply-hit ball bounced off the shortstop's leg, allowing Puailoa and LaZear to score.
"It was a great day," LaZear said. "Chelsea was pitcher her heart out and we just wanted to add some insurance runs."
DiCarlo kept the fun going with an RBI single and Iosefa capped off the inning, and her home hitting career, with an RBI double. In the sixth inning, senior catcher Katie Browne doubled to right field in her final Turner at-bat. And the senior sendoff wasn't complete.
In the top of the seventh, with Georgia three outs from advancing, Wilkinson gave up a leadoff single. And then struck out the next three batters to end the game.
Hugo, LaZear and the rest of the seniors get to keep playing ball and keep chasing a championship. Georgia plays at top-ranked Florida in the Super Regional on Thursday. And yes, the football will be coming along.
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.
