Georgia Hosts Alabama State, Travels to Clemson in Midweek Action

#19 Georgia (14-3)
vs. Alabama State (6-8)
Date: Feb. 25, 2020
First Pitch: 6 p.m.
Location: Athens, Ga.
Stadium: Jack Turner Stadium
Admission: FREE

Media Information
Streaming: SEC Network+
     Play-by-play: Karlie Smith
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Audio: Mixlr
Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball

#19 Georgia (14-3)
at Clemson (10-7)
Date: Feb. 26, 2020
First Pitch: 5 p.m.
Location: Clemson, S.C.
Stadium: Clemson Softball Stadium

Media Information
Streaming: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball

The 19th-ranked Georgia softball team will play a pair of midweeks beginning Tuesday when the Bulldogs host Alabama State at Jack Turner Stadium at 6 p.m. Georgia then travels to Clemson for the first-ever meeting with the Tigers in their inaugural season. First pitch from Clemson is set for 5 p.m.

Georgia is in the midst of a span of 13 games in 12 days; 12 of which will be played in Athens.

This Weekend's Promotions
» Admission to every home regular season Georgia softball game is FREE

Follow the Bulldogs
» Tuesday's game will stream live on SEC Network+. Karlie Smith will call play-by-play.
» Wednesday's game will stream on the ACC Network Extra.
» Tuesday's game can be heard on Mixlr. Audio streaming links can be found on the softball schedule at GeorgiaDogs.com.
» Live stats will be available for all games. 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 Histories
Alabama State
» Georgia leads all-time series 1-0
» Lone meeting was in Athens on Mar. 9, 2004
Clemson
» First-ever meeting

Looking Back
Georgia finished a 6-0 week with five wins in the Georgia Classic including a pair of run-rule victories over #21 James Madison at Jack Turner Stadium. Georgia outscored its opponents 55-20 over the weekend. The weekend was highlighted by a 10-run fifth inning to come from behind and run rule James Madison 19-11 in five innings. Georgia has run ruled 12 opponents in 17 games to begin the season.

A Look at What's Ahead
Georgia concludes its busy February this weekend hosting the Bulldog Classic at Jack Turner Stadium. Eastern Illinois, Boston College, and Western Carolina all come to Athens for Georgia's final non-conference tournament of the season. Georgia will then host Georgia Tech next Wednesday before opening Southeastern Conference play at Jack Turner against South Carolina March 6-8.

In as Few Innings as Possible
Georgia opened the season with seven-straight run-rule victories. The Bulldogs last began the season with seven-straight run-rule victories in 2016 when they run-ruled their opponent in the first 10 games, the program record. During that span in 2016, Georgia outscored its opponents 108-7 with seven shutouts.

The Bulldogs have kept the offense firing recently, run ruling their opponent five times in the last six games. Most notably, Georgia run-ruled #21 James Madison in back-to-back games in the Georgia Classic. In all, Georgia has won in run-rule fashion 12 of its 14 victories.

Big Bat Bryan
Senior Ciara Bryan currently ranks second in the country with eight home runs, a figure that leads the SEC. Bryan has nearly matched her 11 from last season, which is a career best for her.

Bryan knocked a total of three home runs in five games in Clearwater, Florida. Bryan's tally was the most of any player from the 16 teams that competed in Clearwater. Her second home run led off the game against #21 Northwestern. It was the first time a Bulldog led off a game with a home run since Anna Swafford did it against Missouri on Mar. 28, 2014.

Puckett Calls Game... Again
Junior Mackenzie Puckett has been clutch in winning moments her first season at Georgia. Three times she has knocked a game-winning hit to run-rule the opponent. The first, she hit a three-run home against UNCW then followed it up the very next game with an RBI double to end the game against Howard the same day. In the Feb. 20 game against Samford, she hit a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam to lift Georgia to an 8-0 victory in five innings.

Georgia Has Strong Start Statistically
Opening weekend saw Georgia rank top-five nationally in a number of offensive categories including batting average (.411), on base percentage (.504), scoring (9.4 runs/game), and triples per game (0.80). The Bulldogs also ranked top 10 in slugging percentage (.688). In the circle, Georgia's 0.81 ERA ranked 11th and strikeout-to-walk ratio of 9.0 ranked seventh.

Georgia in the Polls
In the Week 2 polls, Georgia fell to a ranking of #19 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and #18 in the USA Softball/ESPN.com Poll. D1Softball and Softball America gave Georgia a #20 ranking.

A Full February
The Bulldogs will begin the season with a full slate in the month of February. Georgia will play 24 (17 in Athens) of its 56 regular season games this month, that's over 40 percent of the regular season. Of those 24 games, the Bulldogs will face four preseason top 25 opponents in #4 UCLA, #14 Northwestern, #18 Texas Tech, and #20 James Madison.

Trio of Bulldogs Appear in Softball America's Top 100
Lacey Fincher (#72), Ciara Bryan (#83), and Justice Milz (#93) appear in Softball America's 2020 Top 100 Players list, released prior to the start of the season. 2020 is the second season in a row the Bulldogs have landed three in the top 100 list.

Georgia Tabbed Sixth in SEC Preseason Poll
The Georgia softball team was picked sixth in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll with 84 points in the poll. Alabama drew 11 of the 13 first-place votes en route to being named the SEC preseason favorite, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Tennessee, who picked up the other two first-place votes, was picked second. LSU came in third followed by Kentucky and Florida.

One Last Go in the Red & Black
Georgia carries a total of seven seniors on the 2020 roster. That total is tied for the largest senior class in the SEC with Alabama (six seniors, one grad). Entering the 2020 season, Georgia's senior class has accumulated a record of 125-55 and has been to the Women's College World Series once in 2018.

Homegrown Bulldogs
Of the 23 members of this season's roster, a total of 14 hail from the state of Georgia (60 percent). That percentage ranks second in the SEC of in-state players only to Texas A&M (80% Texas natives). In all, Georgia's roster is made up of student-athletes from eight states. The only other states producing multiple Bulldogs is California (3) and Alabama (2).

Softball Boasts Strong 2020 Signing Class
Extra Innings Softball ranks the class as the fourth-best signing class in the nation as the class features five of its Elite 100 players and eight on its list of top 200. The class features infielder Ellie Armistead, infielder Cayla Bishop, infielder Aniyah Black, catcher Payden Bordeau, outfielder/first baseman Sydney Chambley, outfielder Hayley Eaton, outfielder Jayda Kearney, pitcher Madison Kerpics, pitcher Riley Orcutt, and pitcher Britton Rogers.

12 Land on Fall Director of Athletics Honor Roll
A total of 12 Georgia softball student-athlete appeared on the Fall Director of Athletics Honor Roll.  Amanda Ablan was commended for a 4.0 GPA. Mary Wilson Avant and Laura Bishop were recognized for a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Tyler Armistead, Ciara Bryan, Hannah Coulter, Jordan Doggett, CJ Landrum, Justice Milz, Jessica Morgan, Sara Mosley, Savana Sikes all landed on the honor roll last semester.

Baldwin Works with USA Softball U-19 Women's National Team
Following the 2019 season in Athens, Tony Baldwin had the opportunity to work with the USA Softball U-19 team over the summer as an assistant coach. The U-19 WNT brought home the bronze medal at the USA Softball International Cup. USA concluded its summer by walking off Japan to win the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-19 Women's Softball World Cup. With the win, Team USA became the first team in history to win three consecutive U-19 World Cup Titles and has seven titles overall.

Fico Retires from NPF
After Georgia's 2019 season, Rachele Fico pitched her final season in the NPF for the Chicago Bandits. In her last campaign, she recorded a 13-4 record in 17 appearances with a 1.62 ERA in 69 innings. She fanned 62 total hitters. On July 20 at home in Rosemont, Illinois, Fico recorded her first professional perfect game in a 5-0 win over the Aussie Peppers. The 2013 No. 1 overall pick out of LSU pitched seven seasons in the NPF.

Georgia Hosts Alabama State, Travels to Clemson in Midweek Action

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Ablan

Tyler Armistead

Mary Wilson Avant

Laura Bishop

Ciara Bryan

Hannah Coulter

Jordan Doggett

Lacey Fincher

CJ Landrum

Justice Milz

Jessica Morgan

Sara Mosley

Mackenzie Puckett

Savana Sikes