Friday, April 21
Athens, Ga.
6:30 p.m.
University of Georgia
35-10, 13-5
2
vs
1
South Carolina
32-13, 7-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
South Carolina
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
5
1
Georgia
0
1
0
0
1
0
X
2
5
1
Bulldogs Edge South Carolina in Opener, 2-1
April 21, 2023 | Softball
ATHENS, Ga. – The 12th-ranked Georgia softball team defeated South Carolina 2-1 Friday evening in front of a crows of 2,087 at Jack Turner Stadium in the opening game of a three-game series.
Georgia climbs to 35-10 on the season and 13-5 in SEC play. The attendance was a season high and officially the fourth-largest in program history.
Madison Kerpics (14-5) worked five innings in her start, responsible for South Carolina's (32-13, 7-9) lone run. She allowed three hits, struck out four, and walked two. Shelby Walters earned her fifth save, pitching the final two innings, allowing two hits and fanning one hitter.
Georgia's offense scattered five hits, two from Ellie Armistead at the bottom of the order. Armistead drove in Georgia's first run of the game and scored its second.
Following a leadoff single from Sydney Kuma in the second, Jaydyn Goodwin drew a walk. Kuma was cut down at third on a double steal attempt, but Goodwin raced around third and scored on a two-out single to left off the bat of Armistead to put the Dogs on the board, 1-0.
Armistead led off the home half of the fifth with a triple to right center. A wild pitch with two out allowed Armistead to score and widen the lead to 2-0 for Georgia.
A leadoff hit-by-pitch in the top of the sixth proved costly as the free base ultimately came in to score, putting South Carolina on the board, 2-1. Walters entered in the sixth following the hit-by-pitch.
Walters shut down the Gamecock offense in the seventh to secure the series opening victory for Georgia.
The Bulldogs and Gamecocks face off in game two of the series Saturday at 12 p.m. live on SEC Network. Saturday's game will be the annual All For Alex game. Fans are encouraged to wear teal to join in the fight against ovarian cancer.
Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On his thoughts on the game...
"I'm really proud of our team. It was a great atmosphere. We talk about these SEC weekends as being like a Super Regional, and tonight really had that feel. Their pitcher is just tremendous. It was a great crowd. I thought we competed really well. I thought we created some of our own stress in terms free bases, hit by pitches, and some of that. I thought Madison [Kerpics] made some of her best pitches with runners in scoring position and really buckled down and did well. Shelby [Walters] came in and commanded the ball really well, and we made some really good plays on defense where we needed them."
Georgia climbs to 35-10 on the season and 13-5 in SEC play. The attendance was a season high and officially the fourth-largest in program history.
Madison Kerpics (14-5) worked five innings in her start, responsible for South Carolina's (32-13, 7-9) lone run. She allowed three hits, struck out four, and walked two. Shelby Walters earned her fifth save, pitching the final two innings, allowing two hits and fanning one hitter.
Georgia's offense scattered five hits, two from Ellie Armistead at the bottom of the order. Armistead drove in Georgia's first run of the game and scored its second.
Following a leadoff single from Sydney Kuma in the second, Jaydyn Goodwin drew a walk. Kuma was cut down at third on a double steal attempt, but Goodwin raced around third and scored on a two-out single to left off the bat of Armistead to put the Dogs on the board, 1-0.
Armistead led off the home half of the fifth with a triple to right center. A wild pitch with two out allowed Armistead to score and widen the lead to 2-0 for Georgia.
A leadoff hit-by-pitch in the top of the sixth proved costly as the free base ultimately came in to score, putting South Carolina on the board, 2-1. Walters entered in the sixth following the hit-by-pitch.
Walters shut down the Gamecock offense in the seventh to secure the series opening victory for Georgia.
The Bulldogs and Gamecocks face off in game two of the series Saturday at 12 p.m. live on SEC Network. Saturday's game will be the annual All For Alex game. Fans are encouraged to wear teal to join in the fight against ovarian cancer.
Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On his thoughts on the game...
"I'm really proud of our team. It was a great atmosphere. We talk about these SEC weekends as being like a Super Regional, and tonight really had that feel. Their pitcher is just tremendous. It was a great crowd. I thought we competed really well. I thought we created some of our own stress in terms free bases, hit by pitches, and some of that. I thought Madison [Kerpics] made some of her best pitches with runners in scoring position and really buckled down and did well. Shelby [Walters] came in and commanded the ball really well, and we made some really good plays on defense where we needed them."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kerpics, Madison (14-5)
L: Donnie Gobourne (8-3)
S: Walters, Shelby (5)
Batting:
2B: Riley Blampied 1
RBI: Brooke Blankenship 1
SH: Brooke Blankenship 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Aniyah Black 1
SB: Aaliyah White 1 ; Emma Sellers 1
HBP: Aniyah Black 1 ; Marissa Gonzalez 1 ; Emma Sellers 1
Batting:
2B: Kearney, Jayda 1
3B: Armistead, Ellie 1
RBI: Armistead, Ellie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Goodwin, Jaydyn 1 ; Armistead, Ellie 1
CS: Kuma, Sydney 1
HBP: Fields, Jaiden 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
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