No. 14 Georgia Hits the Road to Starkville for Final SEC Series

No. 14/12 Georgia (37-13, 11-10)
at No. 20/19 Mississippi State (31-16, 10-11)
Dates: Friday, May 3-Sunday, May 5, 2024
First Pitch: 5 p.m. ET / 1 P.m. ET / 12 p.m. ET
Location: Starkville, Miss.
Stadium: Nusz Park

Media Information
TV: SEC Network (Sunday)
   Play-by-play: Eric Frede
   Analysis: Madison Shipman
Streaming: SEC Network+ (Friday, Saturday)
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball

The 14th-ranked Georgia softball team will travel to Starkville, Mississippi this weekend for a three-game series against No. 20 Mississippi State. The series begins Friday evening at 5 p.m. ET.

Saturday's game will start at 1 p.m. ET with Sunday's finale set to air on SEC Network beginning at 12 p.m. ET.

Follow the Bulldogs
- Friday and Saturday's games will stream live on SEC Network+.
- Sunday's game will air live on SEC Network. Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Madison Shipman (analyst) will be on the call. - Live stat links can be found on the softball schedule page on GeorgiaDogs.com.
- Live Twitter updates will be available on the official Twitter page of Georgia softball, @UGAsoftball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series History
- Georgia leads the all-time series 34-30
- UGA is 14-16 all-time on the road in the series
- Mississippi State swept the last series in Starkville in 2021; Georgia won the previous series there in 2018
- Last season's series was cut short due to weather, but Georgia won the first two games of the tilt in Athens, both shutouts
- Georgia and Mississippi State have split the last 10 meetings, 5-5

Georgia in the Polls
Georgia in the Poll: Week 12
     - USA Today/NFCA: 14
     - ESPN/USA Softball: 12
     - D1Softball: 14
     - Softball America: 13
     - RPI: 6

Recapping Action
Georgia dropped its final home series of the season over the weekend to Florida. The Gators won the opener in five innings, 9-1, handing the Bulldogs their first run-rule loss of the season. Georgia rebounded in game two, blasting five home runs while Lilli Backes pitched a complete game in the circle to level the weekend series. With Georgia holding a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh in game three, Florida rallied for seven unearned runs to take a 10-4 lead. Jayda Kearney knocked a three-run home run in the bottom of the inning, but the rally fell short in the end, 10-7.

A Look at What's Ahead
Georgia will set its sights on the SEC Softball Tournament next week in Auburn, Alabama. Georgia will play Wednesday. The final bracket and matchups will be announced Sunday evening. Georgia is 22-26 all time in the SEC Tournament and its lone championship was 10 years ago in 2014.

Coaching Connection
Former Georgia Bulldog Shelby Suplee is currently in her first season as the strength and conditioning coach for Mississippi State softball. Suplee was a Georgia Bulldog from 2018-21 and was a member of two Women's College World Series teams (2018, 2021). Following graduation, Suplee was a graduate assistant for the Georgia Sports Performance staff before being hired by MSU in January.

Senior Bats Come Alive for Senior Weekend
The senior class had a big offensive series against Florida in the final home series of the season. Four seniors combined to hit eight of Georgia's nine home runs on the weekend, led by three from Sara Mosley and two each from Jaiden Fields and Sydney Kuma. Of Georgia's 19 RBI on the weekend, seniors were responsible for all but one. Seven seniors combined to hit .347 on the weekend, scattering 17 hits.

Backes Out of the Bullpen
Lilli Backes currently has six saves on the season, the second-most in the SEC. Her six saves is third-most in a single season at Georgia and is already top 10 in career saves. She has finished the most games of anyone in the SEC, completing 18 games. She also has appeared in relief the second most; 21 of her 33 appearances have been in relief.

Sara Mosley: The RBI Machine
Sara Mosley currently ranks third in the SEC with 56 total RBI this season, which ranks 15th in the country. Her 1.12 RBI per game is third in the conference and 26th in the country. She has recorded 12 multi-RBI games this season, four of which she drove in five or more runs. Her 291 career RBI rank fifth all-time at Georgia, and she is currently sixth among active Division I players. Her 61 home runs is seven shy of tying Alyssa DiCarlo's record of 69 set in 2019.

No. 14 Georgia Hits the Road to Starkville for Final SEC Series

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Players Mentioned

Lilli Backes

Jaiden Fields

Jayda Kearney

Sydney Kuma

Sara Mosley

University of Georgia Athletics