Athens, GA --- No. 14 Georgia will host Jacksonville State, Radford, and UNCG in the Ninth Annual Bulldog Classic this weekend. The 10-game tournament will begin Friday at Jack Turner Stadium.
The tournament will serve as the final early-season tournament for the Bulldogs before opening Southeastern Conference play next weekend.
Dates: Mar. 2-4, 2018
Location: Athens, Ga.
Stadium: Jack Turner Stadium
Teams:
#14 Georgia (13-1)
Jacksonville State (6-8)
Radford (10-4)
UNCG (11-3)
Georgia’s Schedule:
Mar. 2 – Radford, 3:30 p.m.
Mar. 2 – Jacksonville State, 6 p.m.
Mar. 3 – UNCG, 1 p.m.
Mar. 3 – Jacksonville State, 3:30 p.m.
Mar. 4 – UNCG, 1 p.m.
Media Information
TV: n/a
Streaming Video: SEC Network+
Play-by-Play: Kaleb Frady
Analysis: Natalie Kerns, Kristina Wyatt
Radio: WUOG 90.5 FM/WUOG.org (Saturday vs. JSU only)
Play-by-Play: Myan Patel
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball
This Weekend’s Promotions
» Admission to every home Georgia softball game is FREE
Follow the Bulldogs
» All five Georgia games will be streamed to the SEC Network+. Kaleb Frady will provide play-by-play while Natalie Kerns and Kristina Wyatt will provide analysis.
» Saturday’s game against Jacksonville State will be broadcast on WUOG 90.5 FM and online at WUOG.org. Myan Patel will be on the call.
» Live stats will be available for all games of the Georgia Classic. Live stat links can be found on the softball schedule on GeorgiaDogs.com.
» Live Twitter updates will be available all season long at @UGAsoftball.
Georgia Softball Notebook
Series Histories
Jacksonville State - Georgia leads 4-1
» Last meetings came in last season’s Tallahassee Regional; Georgia won both games
» Jacksonville State won the first-ever meeting on Feb. 12, 2005, 3-2 in eight innings
Radford - Georgia leads 7-0
» Six of seven meetings have been in Athens; last meeting was three games in 2003
» Teams met in Regional play back-to-back years in 2009 and 2010
UNCG - Georgia leads 4-0
» All four meetings have been in Athens; last in 2009
A Look Back
Georgia widened its winning streak to 12 games with four shutout wins at the Georgia Classic over the weekend. The pitching staff worked 25 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and combining for 29 strikeouts of opponents. Brittany Gray, Lauren Mathis, and Mary Wilson Avant threw a combined no-hitter in five innings against Charleston on Friday. The offense scored 34 runs in four games and knocked six total home runs while hitting .433 on the weekend. Freshman Jessica Morgan drove in a team-best six runs while hitting two home runs. Alysen Febrey hit .615 while Cortni Emanuel stole 12 total bases.
Georgia in the Top 25
The Bulldogs stayed strong at #14 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Coaches Polls this week. The Bulldogs entered the season with a preseason #25 ranking and sat at #17 in the week one polls.
Despite finishing last in the SEC a season ago with a 6-18 record, the Bulldogs dropped out of the NFCA Poll only one week. It was the first time Georgia had been outside the top 25 since 2013.
A Look Ahead
Georgia Tech and Western Carolina come to Athens for midweek action Tuesday and Wednesday before opening SEC play against Arkansas Saturday, Mar. 10 at Jack Turner Stadium. Georgia and Georgia Tech square off at 6 p.m. Tuesday followed by a 5 p.m. first pitch against Western Carolina.
Head of the Pack
At the plate, Georgia leads the SEC in six offensive categories including batting average (.406), slugging (.694), on-base percentage (.466), hits (155), home runs (25), and total bases (265).
In the country, Georgia’s team batting average is the best in the nation. The Bulldogs also lead the NCAA in home runs per game (1.79), slugging, and scoring (8.86 runs/game).
Zoom, Zoom
Senior Cortni Emanuel tied a Georgia record with five stolen bases against Charleston on Saturday, Feb. 24. Her mark tied Kellie Middleton’s record vs. McNeese State on Feb. 11, 2007. Emanuel swiped 12 total bags in four games of the Georgia Classic. Now in her fourth season, she has 140 stolen bases, a figure that ranks second all-time at Georgia. Her 19 this season ranks second in the SEC.
Mowing Them Down
Brittany Gray picked up her 400th career strikeout in Friday’s game against Charleston. In her next start on Saturday against ETSU, Gray worked a complete-game shutout while setting a new career-high 14 strikeouts in the seven-inning affair. With her performance, her 415 strikeouts moves her into seventh all-time at Georgia. Her 10.5 strikeouts per seven innings ranks ninth nationally.
The RUNdown
The Bulldogs have outscored opponents 124-14 in 14 games this season. Nationally, Georgia ranks first in scoring with 8.86 runs per game. Georgia’s .406 batting average is also best in the NCAA.
Over the Edge
Georgia has hit 25 home runs in 14 games in 2018. In 2017, Georgia had 28 in 58 games. The total leads the league, five more than second-place Missouri. Georgia’s 1.79 home runs per game average leads all of NCAA D-I softball teams.
No Runs For You!
The Bulldogs have recorded six-consecutive shutouts, tying a program record set twice, first in 2003 then again in 2016. The pitching staff has recorded nine total shutouts this season.
Solid in the Circle
The Georgia pitching staff has been sharp to start the season, recording a 0.80 ERA in 14 games. Georgia’s ERA ranks third in the SEC, sixth in the nation. The staff has struck out 110 opposing hitters, allowing only 10 earned runs and putting nine shutouts in the books. Kylie Bass and Brittany Gray have been staples in the circle, pitching a combined 64.2 of 87 innings played. Together, they have struck out 89 batters.
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