University of Georgia Athletics
Saturday, April 3
Athens, Ga.
8:00 p.m.
University of Georgia
23-5, 4-3
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Florida
25-4, 8-2
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Florida
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Georgia
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No. 20 Georgia Bests No. 5 Gators in Series Opener, 4-2
April 03, 2021 | Softball
ATHENS, Ga. – The 20th-ranked Georgia softball team topped fifth-ranked Florida 4-2 Saturday behind a one-hitter thrown by graduate Mary Wilson Avant in front of a nationally-televised audience on ESPN.
The win is Georgia's first over a top-five opponent since the Bulldogs beat then-No. 2 Florida in 2018, also at Jack Turner Stadium.
Avant (12-2) pitched seven complete innings in her start, allowing one hit and two unearned runs. She fanned six Gators in the contest.
At the plate, junior Savana Sikes went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored. Big hits in the game included a game-tying two-run home run from freshman Payden Bordeau and a go-ahead solo shot from sophomore Sara Mosley.
Florida's Baylee Goddard hit a two-out, two-run home run in the second inning to put the Gators (25-4, 8-2) ahead 2-0.
Bordeau tied the game with one swing of the bat, knocking her first career home run, a two-run shot, lined off the videoboard in left in the third inning.
A solo home run off the bat of Mosley, her second home run of the season, put Georgia (23-5, 4-3) ahead 3-2 in the home half of the fourth.
With runners on the corners and two out in the fifth, redshirt-sophomore Jaiden Fields poked a base hit through the left side to plate Sikes and widen the Bulldogs' lead to 4-2 in the fifth.
Avant pitched five innings of scoreless, hitless softball after the home run in the second, only allowing three runners via walks en route to her 12th victory in the circle.
The Bulldogs and Gators face off in game two of the series Sunday at 3 p.m. on SEC Network.
Head Coach Lu Harris-Champer
On the game and Payden Bordeau's first career home run…
"Timely for sure for Payden [Bordeau]. She really crushed that ball. I know that Coach Tony [Baldwin] really had a good plan for the girls this week, and they worked really hard on their offensive plan. I'm just proud of the girls for executing. I thought that inning when Sydney Chambley really calmed down and took her walk, I could just feel some ease. I thought Payden [Bordeau] really saw the ball well, stuck to the plan, and got her swing off. I was excited to see Sara Mosely get out there and get a big one for us. Jaiden [Fields] too, that's what she does. She hits in runners, outstanding job at the plate. I'm really proud of the defense. I thought the defense was outstanding, and Mary Wilson [Avant] was on point, pitched a great game tonight."
On what the team is taking from tonight's game into tomorrow…
"We're excited to keep on scrapping away, keep on fighting, and stick to the game plan. We're just going to keep competing and know that something good is going to happen."
Sophomore Sara Mosely
On the game…
"We've been preparing for Florida all week, and we prepared for this pitcher before the game. We just showed up and did our thing and trusted ourselves and trusted our process and trusted our training for this week.
On hitting a home run…
"The home run I hit was pretty crazy. The home run was just me working my process. Coach came up to me before my bat, and she said, 'I see it. I see it. You're going to get your hands in front of the ball. I see it.' The first pitch, I hit it, and she came up to me running and hugged me. My teammates having my back was the most special thing."
On what the team is taking from tonight's game into tomorrow…
"What we're taking from tonight is just having that same energy that we had and just taking that over tomorrow. Being the underdog, nobody thinks that we can do it, but we have full trust in ourselves, and we have each other's backs, so we're just going to go out tomorrow and do our thing."
Freshman Payden Bordeau
On hitting her first career home run…
"Just like anybody would say, it's one of the best feelings ever. There's nothing really to it. It just felt really good to finally have that feeling."
On what the team is taking from tonight's game into tomorrow…
"We've been working all week, so it's just about keeping what we've been working on. Seeing what we did today and making adjustments is really going to help tomorrow."
The win is Georgia's first over a top-five opponent since the Bulldogs beat then-No. 2 Florida in 2018, also at Jack Turner Stadium.
Avant (12-2) pitched seven complete innings in her start, allowing one hit and two unearned runs. She fanned six Gators in the contest.
At the plate, junior Savana Sikes went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored. Big hits in the game included a game-tying two-run home run from freshman Payden Bordeau and a go-ahead solo shot from sophomore Sara Mosley.
Florida's Baylee Goddard hit a two-out, two-run home run in the second inning to put the Gators (25-4, 8-2) ahead 2-0.
Bordeau tied the game with one swing of the bat, knocking her first career home run, a two-run shot, lined off the videoboard in left in the third inning.
A solo home run off the bat of Mosley, her second home run of the season, put Georgia (23-5, 4-3) ahead 3-2 in the home half of the fourth.
With runners on the corners and two out in the fifth, redshirt-sophomore Jaiden Fields poked a base hit through the left side to plate Sikes and widen the Bulldogs' lead to 4-2 in the fifth.
Avant pitched five innings of scoreless, hitless softball after the home run in the second, only allowing three runners via walks en route to her 12th victory in the circle.
The Bulldogs and Gators face off in game two of the series Sunday at 3 p.m. on SEC Network.
Head Coach Lu Harris-Champer
On the game and Payden Bordeau's first career home run…
"Timely for sure for Payden [Bordeau]. She really crushed that ball. I know that Coach Tony [Baldwin] really had a good plan for the girls this week, and they worked really hard on their offensive plan. I'm just proud of the girls for executing. I thought that inning when Sydney Chambley really calmed down and took her walk, I could just feel some ease. I thought Payden [Bordeau] really saw the ball well, stuck to the plan, and got her swing off. I was excited to see Sara Mosely get out there and get a big one for us. Jaiden [Fields] too, that's what she does. She hits in runners, outstanding job at the plate. I'm really proud of the defense. I thought the defense was outstanding, and Mary Wilson [Avant] was on point, pitched a great game tonight."
On what the team is taking from tonight's game into tomorrow…
"We're excited to keep on scrapping away, keep on fighting, and stick to the game plan. We're just going to keep competing and know that something good is going to happen."
Sophomore Sara Mosely
On the game…
"We've been preparing for Florida all week, and we prepared for this pitcher before the game. We just showed up and did our thing and trusted ourselves and trusted our process and trusted our training for this week.
On hitting a home run…
"The home run I hit was pretty crazy. The home run was just me working my process. Coach came up to me before my bat, and she said, 'I see it. I see it. You're going to get your hands in front of the ball. I see it.' The first pitch, I hit it, and she came up to me running and hugged me. My teammates having my back was the most special thing."
On what the team is taking from tonight's game into tomorrow…
"What we're taking from tonight is just having that same energy that we had and just taking that over tomorrow. Being the underdog, nobody thinks that we can do it, but we have full trust in ourselves, and we have each other's backs, so we're just going to go out tomorrow and do our thing."
Freshman Payden Bordeau
On hitting her first career home run…
"Just like anybody would say, it's one of the best feelings ever. There's nothing really to it. It just felt really good to finally have that feeling."
On what the team is taking from tonight's game into tomorrow…
"We've been working all week, so it's just about keeping what we've been working on. Seeing what we did today and making adjustments is really going to help tomorrow."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Avant, Mary Wilson (12-2)
L: Elizabeth Hightower (12-2)
Batting:
HR: Baylee Goddard 1
RBI: Baylee Goddard 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Julia Cottrill 1 ; Baylee Goddard 1
HBP: Hannah Adams 1
Batting:
2B: Sikes, Savana 1
HR: Mosley, Sara 1 ; Bordeau, Payden 1
RBI: Fields, Jaiden 1 ; Mosley, Sara 1 ; Bordeau, Payden 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Sikes, Savana 1 ; Mosley, Sara 1 ; Chambley, Sydney 1 ; Bordeau, Payden 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
OF/1B
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
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