University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs One Win from Women’s College World Series, Edge Lady Vols 4-3
May 25, 2018 | Softball
ATHENS, Ga. – In a best of three series between two SEC rivals in the NCAA Super Regionals for a trip to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series, the seventh-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (46-11) edged the 10th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers 4-3 in game one in front of a sold-out Jack Turner Stadium.
After averaging nine runs per game in the NCAA regional, the Bulldog bats picked up where they left off jumping on the Lady Vols in the bottom of the first inning. Cortni Emmanuel started the rally with a bunt single and advanced to second on her SEC leading 51st stolen base of the year. With one out in the inning Justice Milz opened the scoring smashing an double off the wall in left center, plating Emanuel. Shortstop Alyssa DiCarlo followed with a single of her own to center and Alysen Febrey drove in Milz from third on a sacrifice fly increasing the Bulldog lead to 2-0 after the opening frame.
The Bulldogs continued their early success off of Volunteer ace Caylan Arnold (26-5) in the third inning when DiCarlo and Febrey launched back-to-back solo homeruns with two-outs doubling the home team's advantage to 4-0.
Georgia southpaw Kylie Bass (15-3) dazzled on the mound tossing five shutout innings before running into trouble in the sixth inning. A leadoff single and a hit-by-pitch set up catcher Abby Lockman's sacrifice fly and right fielder Amanda Ayala's double as the Lady Vol's trimmed the Bulldog lead in half to 4-2. With two runners on and two outs the Bulldogs turned to Mary Wilson Avant out of the bullpen who stymied the Lady Vol rally stranding the tying run on first.
Refusing to go quietly the Lady Vols manufactured a run without a hit in the seventh inning. Two walks, a wild pitch and an RBI groundout narrowed the Bulldog lead even further to 4-3, but with the go-ahead run on the bases Avant fanned designated player Abby Lockman preserving the Bulldogs sixth one-run win of the season.
Avant picked up her second save of the season, working one and a third innings out of the pen.
Offensively, Georgia and Tennessee each scattered seven hits. Milz and DiCarlo each had two hits while Alysen Febrey drove in a pair of runs.
Up next, the Bulldogs will look to clinch their fourth trip to the Women's College World Series Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Jack Turner Stadium.
Tennessee Co-Head Coach Ralph Weekly
On playing Georgia...
"We are really proud of the players and the way they fought after the rain delay to make it a close game. We are happy with the people of Georgia and what they have done and how they have handled everything. They are really great hosts. For me and Lu [Harris-Champer], we go back 17 years and we have had battles where I have won and where she has won. The thing about it is, we had great competition today with two very good teams. In the end it is always the players and these two [Meghan Gregg] and [Caylan Arnold] were very critical for us and she had some critical players too. Thank you, Georgia for hosting us in a proper way."
On the difference in performance after rain delay…
"I am not sure why because we had good practices and good lead up to things. I think it was just that they knocked the tar out of the ball before the rain and it was kind of two teams at two different times. I think that they jumped on us quick and did a good job."
On tomorrow's game…
"I told our players a few minutes ago that we are only thinking one game. We only can in this situation. We have got to think about tomorrow's game. We are going to play as hard as we can and do as well as we can and leave it all on the field. Whatever happens, happens."
Senior SS #55 Meghan Gregg
On Tennessee's play after the rain delay…
"We tried to stay loose during the break and have a good time dancing and enjoying one another. I really am proud of how we came out after the rain delay. We came out fighting and fought until the end. It did not feel like we lost that game because we had so much momentum and swung the bats really hard."
Sophomore RHP #12 Caylan Arnold
On two bad pitches resulting in home runs by Georgia…
"I wasn't surprised. Georgia's team is full of great hitters. I knew going into this game they were going to hit the ball and so I was prepared for that. It is frustrating when they get hits off of pitches that weren't your best and so that is something I really focused on coming back out. Something I have been battling this year is trying too hard to throw the pitch instead of just relaxing and throwing, and that is what I did with those pitches. I was trying too hard to get out of the inning. I think I did a good job coming out of the rain delay and doing what I needed to do for my team."
Georgia Head Coach Lu Harris-Champer
On her team's performance...
"I thought we showed a lot of heart. We fought out there with resiliency and just overcoming adversity and keeping it together. I thought the team did a great job. I thought Kylie [Bass] was fantastic on the mound to begin. I thought she really was able to spin the ball off and throw a lot of good changeups, and then I thought Mary [Wilson Avant] did an awesome job in a really fun, awesome environment to really close it out and get the finish, so I'm proud of her for that. I thought the offense was amazing. They just came out and did what they do. They were relaxed and they were seeing the ball big and letting the ball fly."
Junior SS #8 Alyssa DiCarlo
On the hitting approach...
"I mean there was talk about what she [Tennessee pitcher Caylan Arnold] was throwing, but really we just go in the box and do what we do every day in practice: not make the moment too big, but just see the ball and we're all really good hitters so we just have to trust ourselves."
Sophomore RHP #5 Mary Wilson Avant
On her mindset coming in to finish the game...
"I think, again, to just keep what we've been doing. We've been coming into situations like this all year long, so just to not make it bigger than it is."
After averaging nine runs per game in the NCAA regional, the Bulldog bats picked up where they left off jumping on the Lady Vols in the bottom of the first inning. Cortni Emmanuel started the rally with a bunt single and advanced to second on her SEC leading 51st stolen base of the year. With one out in the inning Justice Milz opened the scoring smashing an double off the wall in left center, plating Emanuel. Shortstop Alyssa DiCarlo followed with a single of her own to center and Alysen Febrey drove in Milz from third on a sacrifice fly increasing the Bulldog lead to 2-0 after the opening frame.
The Bulldogs continued their early success off of Volunteer ace Caylan Arnold (26-5) in the third inning when DiCarlo and Febrey launched back-to-back solo homeruns with two-outs doubling the home team's advantage to 4-0.
Georgia southpaw Kylie Bass (15-3) dazzled on the mound tossing five shutout innings before running into trouble in the sixth inning. A leadoff single and a hit-by-pitch set up catcher Abby Lockman's sacrifice fly and right fielder Amanda Ayala's double as the Lady Vol's trimmed the Bulldog lead in half to 4-2. With two runners on and two outs the Bulldogs turned to Mary Wilson Avant out of the bullpen who stymied the Lady Vol rally stranding the tying run on first.
Refusing to go quietly the Lady Vols manufactured a run without a hit in the seventh inning. Two walks, a wild pitch and an RBI groundout narrowed the Bulldog lead even further to 4-3, but with the go-ahead run on the bases Avant fanned designated player Abby Lockman preserving the Bulldogs sixth one-run win of the season.
Avant picked up her second save of the season, working one and a third innings out of the pen.
Offensively, Georgia and Tennessee each scattered seven hits. Milz and DiCarlo each had two hits while Alysen Febrey drove in a pair of runs.
Up next, the Bulldogs will look to clinch their fourth trip to the Women's College World Series Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Jack Turner Stadium.
Tennessee Co-Head Coach Ralph Weekly
On playing Georgia...
"We are really proud of the players and the way they fought after the rain delay to make it a close game. We are happy with the people of Georgia and what they have done and how they have handled everything. They are really great hosts. For me and Lu [Harris-Champer], we go back 17 years and we have had battles where I have won and where she has won. The thing about it is, we had great competition today with two very good teams. In the end it is always the players and these two [Meghan Gregg] and [Caylan Arnold] were very critical for us and she had some critical players too. Thank you, Georgia for hosting us in a proper way."
On the difference in performance after rain delay…
"I am not sure why because we had good practices and good lead up to things. I think it was just that they knocked the tar out of the ball before the rain and it was kind of two teams at two different times. I think that they jumped on us quick and did a good job."
On tomorrow's game…
"I told our players a few minutes ago that we are only thinking one game. We only can in this situation. We have got to think about tomorrow's game. We are going to play as hard as we can and do as well as we can and leave it all on the field. Whatever happens, happens."
Senior SS #55 Meghan Gregg
On Tennessee's play after the rain delay…
"We tried to stay loose during the break and have a good time dancing and enjoying one another. I really am proud of how we came out after the rain delay. We came out fighting and fought until the end. It did not feel like we lost that game because we had so much momentum and swung the bats really hard."
Sophomore RHP #12 Caylan Arnold
On two bad pitches resulting in home runs by Georgia…
"I wasn't surprised. Georgia's team is full of great hitters. I knew going into this game they were going to hit the ball and so I was prepared for that. It is frustrating when they get hits off of pitches that weren't your best and so that is something I really focused on coming back out. Something I have been battling this year is trying too hard to throw the pitch instead of just relaxing and throwing, and that is what I did with those pitches. I was trying too hard to get out of the inning. I think I did a good job coming out of the rain delay and doing what I needed to do for my team."
Georgia Head Coach Lu Harris-Champer
On her team's performance...
"I thought we showed a lot of heart. We fought out there with resiliency and just overcoming adversity and keeping it together. I thought the team did a great job. I thought Kylie [Bass] was fantastic on the mound to begin. I thought she really was able to spin the ball off and throw a lot of good changeups, and then I thought Mary [Wilson Avant] did an awesome job in a really fun, awesome environment to really close it out and get the finish, so I'm proud of her for that. I thought the offense was amazing. They just came out and did what they do. They were relaxed and they were seeing the ball big and letting the ball fly."
Junior SS #8 Alyssa DiCarlo
On the hitting approach...
"I mean there was talk about what she [Tennessee pitcher Caylan Arnold] was throwing, but really we just go in the box and do what we do every day in practice: not make the moment too big, but just see the ball and we're all really good hitters so we just have to trust ourselves."
Sophomore RHP #5 Mary Wilson Avant
On her mindset coming in to finish the game...
"I think, again, to just keep what we've been doing. We've been coming into situations like this all year long, so just to not make it bigger than it is."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bass, Kylie (15-3)
L: Caylan Arnold (26-5)
S: Avant, Mary Wilson (2)
Batting:
2B: Amanda Ayala 1 ; Katie Weimer 1
RBI: Abby Lockman 1 ; Amanda Ayala 1
SH: Abby Lockman 1
SF: Abby Lockman 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Aubrey Leach 1 ; Meghan Gregg 1 ; Chelsea Seggern 1
SB: Aubrey Leach 1 ; CJ McClain 1
HBP: Chelsea Seggern 1

Batting:
2B: Milz, Justice 1
HR: DiCarlo, Alyssa 1 ; Febrey, Alysen 1
RBI: DiCarlo, Alyssa 1 ; Febrey, Alysen 2
SH: Burton, Kendall 1
SF: Febrey, Alysen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Emanuel, Cortni 1 ; Milz, Justice 1 ; DiCarlo, Alyssa 1 ; Febrey, Alysen 1
SB: Emanuel, Cortni 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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