#13 Georgia Opens SEC Tournament Play Wednesday

Thursday, May 9

College Station, Texas

11 a.m.

University of Georgia

Arkansas

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May 07, 2019 | Softball

SEC Tournament Notes

#13/17 Georgia (39-16)
vs. #19/21 Arkansas (38-17)
Dates: May 8, 2019
First Pitch Time: 6:30 p.m., ET
Location: College Station, Texas
Stadium: Davis Diamond

Media Information
TV: SEC Network
     Play-by-play: Beth Mowins
     Analysis: Michele Smith
     Sideline: Holly Rowe
Streaming Video: SEC Network+
Satellite Radio: Sirius XM SEC Radio Channel 374
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball

SEC Tournament Central Page

#13/17 Georgia softball opens 2019 Southeastern Conference Tournament play Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., ET, against ninth-seeded Arkansas. The tournament will play out at Davis Diamond in College Station, Texas.

Georgia, who finished the regular season in a four-way tie for sixth at 12-12, will carry the No. 8 seed in this season's tournament.

Follow the Bulldogs
» The SEC Tournament will air nationally on the networks of ESPN. Wednesday and Thursday's games will air on SEC Network with Friday and Championship Saturday appearing on ESPN 2.
» All games will be streaked live via Watch ESPN and the ESPN app.
» All games of the SEC Tournament will air on Sirius XM SEC Radio Channel 374.
» Live stats will be available for the SEC Tournament. Live stat links can be found on the softball schedule at GeorgiaDogs.com.
» Live Twitter updates will be available at the official Twitter page of Georgia softball, @UGAsoftball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series History
» Georgia leads the all-time series with Arkansas 37-19
» Georgia has won five of the last six meetings
» In the SEC Tournament, the Bulldogs are 1-1 against the Razorbacks; winning 2-0 in 2006 and falling 8-3 last season
» The Bulldogs and Razorbacks met in Athens in the regular season in 2018; Georgia swept the series to begin SEC play
» Since 2015, Georgia has won eight of 10 meetings

SEC Tournament Tidbits
» Georgia's all-time SEC Tournament record is 20-21 (.488) in 18 total appearances
» Lone tournament title came in 2014 in Columbia, South Carolina
» This will be Georgia's fourth time as the #8 seed in the tournament (1998, 1999, 2016); Georgia is
» Georgia's 20 SEC Tournament wins ranks fifth in tournament history while its .500 percentage ranks fourth-best
» Georgia has reached the tournament finals five times, fourth most in league history
» The Bulldogs rank second with four Championship runner-up finishes (2002, 2004, 2005, 2011)
» Lu Harris-Champer is the fourth-winning-est coach in tournament history at 20-17 (.541)
» Georgia is set to host the SEC Tournament in Athens in 2023

A Look Back
Georgia concluded the regular season at Jack Turner Stadium hosting the Ole Miss Rebels over the weekend. The opener was a nail biter as the game was scoreless going into the bottom of the seventh. The Bulldogs clinched the opening-game victory when Tyler Armistead knocked an RBI triple to drive in the winning run, 1-0. Game two started Saturday but was suspended in the bottom of the first due to weather with the Rebels up 1-0. Down 5-3 with three outs left, Mahlena O'Neal tied the game with a two-RBI single in the seventh then freshman Savana Sikes drove the go-ahead run for the second-straight walk off. The offense put up four-run innings in the first and second of the finale and held the Rebel offense for an 8-0 run rule, securing the Bulldogs' first sweep of SEC play and fifth series win of the conference slate.

Georgia in the Polls
The Bulldogs climbed a spot to #14 in the week 12 USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll while jumping two spots to #19 in the USA Softball/ESPN.com Poll.

Thank you, Seniors!
Georgia honored the careers of two seniors who played their finals regular season games at Jack Turner Stadium: Kylie Bass and Alyssa DiCarlo. The two will go down among the best to wear the Red & Black. Bass will finish among career top-10 performers in ERA, wins, appearances, opponent batting average, and strikeouts. In her senior campaign, DiCarlo has broken Georgia's career records for home runs, RBI, extra-base hits, and total bases while raking among the top-10 in batting average, hits, at bats, runs, doubles, slugging, on-base percentage, walks, sacrifice flies, and assists.

DiCarlo a Top 26 Finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
Senior Alyssa DiCarlo has been named a top-26 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. This is the second-straight season as a top-26 finalist for the Glendale, Arizona native. Last season, she and Cortni Emanuel were both finalists. The 2019 season is the seventh season Georgia has placed a student-athlete in the top 25. Alisa Goler (2009) is Georgia's lone top-10 finalist in the history of the award. DiCarlo is one of eight from the Southeastern Conference to appear on the list. The list of 26 Finalists will be narrowed to the 10 Finalists on May 8 before the Top 3 Finalists will be announced on May 22. The 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 28.

The Dogs Are Grand
Georgia has hit six grand slams this season, the most since 2016 when he Bulldogs hit eight in the season, the most dating back to the 2005 campaign. Freshman Savana Sikes owns two of the six hit this season. Three have come in the month of April.

No Runs for You!
The Georgia pitching staff secured shutouts in three of their final nine SEC games including two against #15 Ole Miss. The Bulldog staff ranks sixth nationally and second in the SEC with 18 shutouts this season.

Bulldogs Offense Nationally
Georgia currently ranks among the nation's best in scoring (18th, 6.33 runs per game), 14th in slugging percentage (.526) and 20th in on base percentage (.401). Additionally, the Bulldogs rank 16th with 1.29 home runs per game. Individually, Alyssa DiCarlo is sixth in the nation in home runs (21) and seventh in total bases (137) and slugging (.931) and 21st in RBI (54).

DiCarlo Leads Active Career Leaders in RBI and Total Bases
Senior Alyssa DiCarlo leads active Division I softball student-athletes with 248 RBI, and 527 total bases. In additional categories, she ranks second in home run (66) and sixth in doubles (53).

DiCarlo Drafted #4 Pick by Chicago Bandits
Shortstop Alyssa DiCarlo was drafted by the Chicago Bandits in the NPF Draft on Apr. 15. DiCarlo was taken as the fourth-overall pick of the 2019 NPF Draft. DiCarlo becomes the 14th player drafted out of Georgia in the history of the NPF Draft. 2019 is the fourth-straight year a Bulldog has been chosen in the draft and the sixth in that span. The Bandits have drafted three players from Georgia in the history of the draft, the first being Megan Wiggins in 2011. DiCarlo will join Georgia assistant coach Rachele Fico on the Bandits along with former Bulldog Kristyn Sandberg.

Coaching Milestones
Lu Harris-Champer won her 1,100th career game on Apr. 17 against Georgia Tech. Harris-Champer ranks fourth among active coaches in the SEC behind Ralph and Karen Weekly (1,384; 1,106) and Jo Evans (1,217). The Apr. 20 win over Tennessee was Harris-Champer's 300th-career SEC win, second-most in the league.

Harris-Champer's 100th career win came at Georgia Tech on Mar. 27, 1999. 20 years later, win 1,100 was against the Yellow Jackets.

Fincher Named to Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 List
Lacey Fincher was named one of 25 to the Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year list. Fincher, a native of Tanner Williams, Alabama, is the first Bulldog to appear on the list since Cortni Emanuel in 2015. She is one of four from the SEC, the league with the most finalists on the list. In the field, Fincher has started the majority of games at first base while seeing time at shortstop, in the outfield, and even behind the plate.

DiCarlo Topples Career Records
Senior Alyssa DiCarlo now owns four of Georgia's career records. In the Mar. 10 game against Western Illinois at Jack Turner Stadium, DiCarlo became Georgia's new all-time home runs leader. In the first inning at Auburn (Mar. 29), DiCarlo doubled down the left field line to plate CJ Landrum, breaking the career RBI record. The extra-base hits record fell in the series finale against Texas A&M (Apr. 7) with a two-run home run in the first inning. Finally, she broke the total bases record with a home run in the seventh inning at South Carolina (Apr. 27), that tied the game up when the Bulldogs were down to their final two outs.