#6 Georgia Hosts Kennesaw State Wednesday

#6 Georgia (29-3)
vs. Kennesaw State (22-11)
Date: Mar. 28, 2018
Time: 6 p.m., EDT
Location: Athens, Ga.
Stadium: Jack Turner Stadium

Media Information
Streaming Video: SEC Network+
     Play-by-play: Kaleb Frady
     Analysis: Natalie Kerns
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball

#6 Georgia returns to the friendly confines of Jack Turner Stadium for a midweek matchup with in-state foe Kennesaw State. Wednesday's contest will begin at 6 p.m.

Follow the Bulldogs
» Wednesday's game will be streamed to the SEC Network+. Kaleb Frady will provide play-by-play while Natalie Kerns will provide analysis.
» Wednesday's game will air live on 90.5 FM WUOG and WUOG.org. Myan Patel will be on the call.» Live stats will be available. Live stat links can be found on the softball schedule at GeorgiaDogs.com.
» Live Twitter updates will be available all season long at @UGAsoftball.

This Week's Promotions
» Admission to every home Georgia softball game is FREE
» $1 Hot Dogs

Georgia Softball Notebook
Series History
Georgia leads 5-2
» These in-state rivals have only met seven times in a series that dates back to Georgia's inaugural season in '97
» Georgia lost the first two meetings in 1997, winning the last five
» All seven meetings have been in Athens
» Last matchup was 2016, the previous was 2012

A Look Back
Georgia won its third-straight SEC series over the weekend, taking two-of-three games on the road at #21 Mississippi State. Georgia was three outs away from being swept on the weekend as the Bulldogs found themselves down a run in the seventh with two outs in every game. Alyssa DiCarlo hit a game-tying home run in game one followed by a two-run shot by Mahlena O'Neal to put Georgia ahead, 4-2. Georgia tied the game on Saturday but fell in the bottom of the seventh, 5-4. Sunday's rubber game was no different. Down 2-1, Ciara Bryan punched a two-run single with two out to capture a 3-2 lead and Brittany Gray retired MSU in order in the bottom of the seventh to secure the series for Georgia.

A Look Ahead
Georgia will travel to #7 Tennessee for a Saturday-Monday conference series over Easter weekend. The series will air in its entirety on the SEC Network. The series begins Saturday at 5 p.m. with first pitch on Easter Sunday set for 6 p.m. The finale will begin Monday evening at 7 p.m. Georgia will then set its sights on a midweek game at rival Georgia Tech Wednesday.

Georgia in the Top 25
The Bulldogs continued climbing to #6 in the week seven USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. Georgia also came in at #6 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. Six is Georgia's highest ranking in the NCFA poll since being top four much of the 2011 season.

Georgia's rankings this season:
Preseason: 25
Week 1: 17
Week 2: 14
Week 3: 14
Week 4: 11
Week 5: 10/12
Week 6: 7
Week 7: 6

Despite finishing last in the SEC a season ago with a 6-18 record, the Bulldogs dropped out of the NFCA Poll only one week. It was the first time Georgia had been outside the top 25 since 2013.

Winning Series is Key
Georgia has opened Southeastern Conference play winning three-straight series. The last time Georgia accomplished that feat was 2012, winning series against Mississippi State, Auburn, and Ole Miss to begin conference play. Georgia won all but one league series in 2006, a season after winning all 10 series in 2005.

Down But Not Out
In the road series at Mississippi State, Georgia found itself down a run in the top seventh with two out in every game. The Bulldogs either tied or took a lead in each game with one out left, winning games Friday and Sunday.

Georgia has come back to win three games when trailing after six innings this season, the other in the series opener against Florida.

A Run for the Ages
Georgia softball's 25-game win streak tied the all-time record. The streak ran from Feb. 9 to Mar. 17. The Bulldogs tied the record from May 6, 2001-Mar. 3, 2002 of the same mark. Georgia opened the 2002 season 24-0.

DiCarlo Named ESPNW Player of the Week
DiCarlo led the team with four home runs last week, driving in nine total runs. She hit two home runs in the series opener against #2 Florida including a two-run walk-off in the bottom of the seventh. She finished the weekend against the Gators with four extra-base hits, recording 14 bases while hitting .400 with a 1.400 slugging percentage.

DiCarlo is the first Georgia softball student-athlete to earn the award from ESPNW. She becomes the first national player of the week from Georgia since Chelsea Wilkinson earned NFCA honors on May 13, 2014.

Dawg Nation, This Is You
Georgia softball set a new attendance record twice against #2 Florida. The record was broken during game two when 2,011 were on hand. The record was topped the next day as 2,457 faithful packed the stadium to capacity.

There's No Place Like The Jack
Georgia has played 24 games at Jack Turner Stadium this season, winning 23 of said contests. The Bulldogs have nearly topped their home winning total from the past three seasons (24, 2017; 23, 2016; 26, 2015). Georgia is .783 at home with 559 wins.

Solid in the Circle
The Georgia pitching staff has been sharp this season, recording a 1.08 ERA through 32 games and 207 innings. Georgia's ERA is the second-best in the SEC and sixth in the nation. The staff has struck out 248 opposing hitters, allowing only 32 earned runs and putting 16 shutouts in the books.

Brittany Gray has the second-best ERA in the country at 0.48. She did not allow an earned run until her 14th appearance this season. She has allowed just 3.3 hits per seven innings pitched, ranking seventh in NCAA.

A Power-Packed Offense
At the plate, Georgia leads the SEC in four offensive categories including batting average (.363), slugging (.598), home runs (44), and total bases (508).

In the country, Georgia's team batting average ranks second to UCLA. The Bulldogs lead the NCAA in slugging while coming in fourth in on base pct. and in second scoring (7.25 runs/game).

It Begins at the Top
The top of Georgia's lineup features two hitters batting north of .400 through 32 games in Alysen Febrey (.418) and Cortni Emanuel (.418). Georgia's three-hole hitter Alyssa DiCarlo is hitting just under at .398.

The first inning is the second-highest run producing inning for Georgia, scoring 44 runs in the opening stanza. The Bulldogs have scored in the first 17 times, winning all 17 of said games.

The RUNdown
The Bulldogs have outscored opponents 232-45 this season. Nationally, Georgia ranks second in scoring with 7.25 runs per game. Georgia's .363 batting average is second-best in the NCAA.

Individually, Cortni Emanuel leads the team with 38 runs scored while Alyssa DiCarlo is a close second with 35. Emanuel ranks sixth in the nation with 1.19 runs scored per game while DiCarlo ranks 14th.

The Iron Woman
Senior pitcher Brittany Gray has worked a team-leading 87 innings in the circle, 42% of Georgia's innings. Through 87 innings, she has allowed just six earned runs. She is a perfect 15-0, shutting out six opponents in 10 complete games. She has also struck out 122 batters. Her 3.3 hits allowed per seven innings ranks seventh nationally while her 9.8 strikeouts per seven innings comes in at 15th.

Her 483 strikeouts ranks sixth all-time at Georgia. She is only the sixth Georgia pitcher to pitch 500 innings in her career.

Zoom, Zoom
Senior Cortni Emanuel tied a Georgia record with five stolen bases against Charleston, Feb. 24. Her mark tied Kellie Middleton's record vs. McNeese State on Feb. 11, 2007. Emanuel swiped 12 total bags in four games of the Georgia Classic. Now in her fourth season, she has 151 stolen bases, a figure that ranks second all-time at Georgia. Her 0.94 stolen bases per game this season ranks fourth in the country.

Over the Edge
Georgia has hit 44 home runs in 2018. In 2017, Georgia had 28 in 58 games. Georgia's 1.38 home runs per game average ranks fourth all of NCAA DI softball teams.

In the series opener against Florida, Mar. 16, Georgia hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the first inning. It was the first time Georgia had hit three-straight home runs since Mar. 17, 2013 (vs. Auburn) and the three home runs in an inning since Mar. 7, 2015 (at Mississippi State).

Bulldog pitchers have allowed only six home runs this season. Three hitters have hit more home runs than opponents (DiCarlo, Febrey, Milz).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ciara Bryan

Alyssa DiCarlo

Cortni Emanuel

Alysen Febrey

Brittany Gray

Mahlena O'Neal

University of Georgia Athletics