Saturday, May 7
Athens, Ga.
1:30 p.m.
University of Georgia
40-14, 12-11
8
vs
10
Ole Miss
37-16, 11-12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Ole Miss
3
0
0
1
4
0
2
10
12
0
Georgia
3
1
0
0
0
0
4
8
6
0
Georgia Breaks Single-Season Home Run Record, Falls to Ole Miss 10-8
May 07, 2022 | Softball
ATHENS, Ga. – The 16th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs broke the program single-season home run record Saturday at Jack Turner Stadium in a 10-8 loss to Ole Miss.
Sophomore Jayda Kearney's seventh inning grand slam was the 100th home run of the season for the Georgia Bulldogs, breaking the previous record of 99 set in 2010. Georgia becomes the first SEC team to hit 100 home runs in a season since Tennessee in 2015.
Georgia falls to 40-14 on the season and 12-11 in SEC play. Georgia honored the careers of senior student-athletes Lauren Mathis, Savana Sikes, Mackenzie Puckett, and Lacey Fincher prior to the game.
After going 4-for-4 in Friday's game, Kearney added two more hits Saturday, both home runs, and drove in seven RBI, a new career high. She has hit 15 home runs this season and moves into the team lead with 54 RBI.
Senior Lauren Mathis worked a combined three and a third innings in her start. She fanned six Rebels, allowing five runs on six hits. Britton Rogers (10-2) suffered the loss in relief. Riley Orcutt and Kylie Macy each saw time out of the pen.
Ole Miss (37-16, 11-12) quickly jumped out in front with a three-run home run in the top of the first. The Bulldogs responded in the home half of the inning to tie the game. A one-out single from Sara Mosley and a walk to Fincher put two on. Kearney's 14th home run of the season tied the game at 3-3 and tied the program single-season home run record at 99.
Georgia opened the run factory in the second inning. Sikes singled to left with one out then was successfully bunted to second by Ellie Armistead. Sikes scored all the way from second on a base hit to left off the bat of Sydney Kuma and Georgia took the lead 4-3.
A two-out base hit up the middle from Abbey Latham tied the game at 4-all in the top of the fourth. The Rebels strung together four runs on three RBI singles and a bases-loaded walk to go ahead 8-4. A two-RBI base hit in the top of the seventh would prove to be beneficial for the Rebels, widening the lead to 10-4.
Georgia didn't go quietly in the bottom of the seventh down six. Three walks loaded the bases for the Bulldogs with two out. Kearney stepped in and launched a grand slam, her second of the season, to right field, cutting the Rebel lead to two and breaking the program home run record. The comeback was cut short on a groundout, 10-8.
The regular-season finale is set for Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Jack Turner Stadium. Sunday's game will be Georgia's annual Strike Out Cancer game. Fans are encouraged to wear pink.
Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On Saturday's game…
"Really excited for the seniors today. It was a great atmosphere, a great crowd. Disappointed that we didn't manage the game a little bit better in the middle innings. We didn't command the ball from the circle. We gave away some at-bats there and that ended up being the difference. But, really proud of the answer back in the first (inning), scoring three there in the bottom of the first. Then fighting all the way until the end, get a couple more at-bats in there and you never know what would happen. Tomorrow, we just have to clean up a couple of things, pitch a little bit better, and compete a little bit better."
Sophomore Jayda Kearney's seventh inning grand slam was the 100th home run of the season for the Georgia Bulldogs, breaking the previous record of 99 set in 2010. Georgia becomes the first SEC team to hit 100 home runs in a season since Tennessee in 2015.
Georgia falls to 40-14 on the season and 12-11 in SEC play. Georgia honored the careers of senior student-athletes Lauren Mathis, Savana Sikes, Mackenzie Puckett, and Lacey Fincher prior to the game.
After going 4-for-4 in Friday's game, Kearney added two more hits Saturday, both home runs, and drove in seven RBI, a new career high. She has hit 15 home runs this season and moves into the team lead with 54 RBI.
Senior Lauren Mathis worked a combined three and a third innings in her start. She fanned six Rebels, allowing five runs on six hits. Britton Rogers (10-2) suffered the loss in relief. Riley Orcutt and Kylie Macy each saw time out of the pen.
Ole Miss (37-16, 11-12) quickly jumped out in front with a three-run home run in the top of the first. The Bulldogs responded in the home half of the inning to tie the game. A one-out single from Sara Mosley and a walk to Fincher put two on. Kearney's 14th home run of the season tied the game at 3-3 and tied the program single-season home run record at 99.
Georgia opened the run factory in the second inning. Sikes singled to left with one out then was successfully bunted to second by Ellie Armistead. Sikes scored all the way from second on a base hit to left off the bat of Sydney Kuma and Georgia took the lead 4-3.
A two-out base hit up the middle from Abbey Latham tied the game at 4-all in the top of the fourth. The Rebels strung together four runs on three RBI singles and a bases-loaded walk to go ahead 8-4. A two-RBI base hit in the top of the seventh would prove to be beneficial for the Rebels, widening the lead to 10-4.
Georgia didn't go quietly in the bottom of the seventh down six. Three walks loaded the bases for the Bulldogs with two out. Kearney stepped in and launched a grand slam, her second of the season, to right field, cutting the Rebel lead to two and breaking the program home run record. The comeback was cut short on a groundout, 10-8.
The regular-season finale is set for Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Jack Turner Stadium. Sunday's game will be Georgia's annual Strike Out Cancer game. Fans are encouraged to wear pink.
Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On Saturday's game…
"Really excited for the seniors today. It was a great atmosphere, a great crowd. Disappointed that we didn't manage the game a little bit better in the middle innings. We didn't command the ball from the circle. We gave away some at-bats there and that ended up being the difference. But, really proud of the answer back in the first (inning), scoring three there in the bottom of the first. Then fighting all the way until the end, get a couple more at-bats in there and you never know what would happen. Tomorrow, we just have to clean up a couple of things, pitch a little bit better, and compete a little bit better."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brooke Vestal (8-1)
L: Rogers, Britton (10-2)
Batting:
2B: Catelyn Riley 1 ; Keila Kamoku 1
HR: Abbey Latham 1
RBI: Tate Whitley 1 ; Bre Roper 1 ; Abbey Latham 4 ; Sydney Gutierrez 3 ; Paige Smith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tate Whitley 4 ; Bre Roper 1 ; Abbey Latham 2 ; Brooke Barnard 1 ; Mikayla Allee 1 ; Aynslie Furbush 1
SB: Bre Roper 1 ; Abbey Latham 1
Batting:
HR: Kearney, Jayda 2
RBI: Kuma, Sydney 1 ; Kearney, Jayda 7
SH: Armistead, Ellie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kuma, Sydney 1 ; Mosley, Sara 1 ; Fincher, Lacey 1 ; Eaton, Hayley 1 ; Kearney, Jayda 2 ; Sikes, Savana 1 ; Barth, Faith 1
CS: Kearney, Jayda 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
7
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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INF
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RHP
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RHP
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RHP/UT
/ SoftballUT
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RHP
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INF
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