UGA Women’s Softball: Puckett’s Walk-Off Grand Slam Powers Georgia over Samford, 8-0
| Team | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 8 | 5 | 0 |
ATHENS, Ga. – The 19th-ranked Georgia softball program bounced back with an 8-0 run-rule victory over the Samford Bulldogs, 8-0, in five innings on Wednesday evening at Jack Turner Stadium.
Junior Mackenzie Puckett highlighted the Georgia offense, responsible for the walk-off grand slam to win the game in the bottom of the fifth. On top of Puckett’s four RBI, senior Ciara Bryan tallied Georgia’s other home run, her seventh of the season. Redshirt-freshman Jaiden Fields and senior Justice Milz each recorded an RBI apiece. In all, Georgia scored eight runs on five hits.
Junior Lauren Mathis (4-0) was dominant in the circle for the Bulldogs, shutting out Samford in five innings. Mathis notched a new career-high 13 strikeouts, allowing only two hits and only one walk.
Bryan wasted no time getting the Bulldogs rolling, knocking her seventh senior-season home run in the leadoff spot in the bottom of the first. With two-out and the bases loaded, Fields was hit by a pitch to extend Georgia’s lead to two. Milz followed with a bases-loaded walk to plate another run, sending Georgia into the second leading, 3-0.
A pair of Samford errors in the bottom of the fourth allowed junior catcher Hannah Coulter to score and add to the lead, 4-0.
Mathis retired 13-straight batters before allowing Samford its second hit, a single, in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, Georgia was able to load the bases as a result of a walk and two-straight singles. For the third time this season, Puckett called game, this time with a grand slam to right field to secure the 8-0 victory in five innings.
Georgia is set to host the Georgia Classic beginning on Friday, Feb. 21. Up first, for the Bulldogs is a doubleheader, the first game against Central Michigan at 3:30 p.m., immediately followed by a matchup against 21st-ranked James Madison at 6 p.m. All of Georgia’s games in the Georgia Classic will stream on SEC Network +.
#00 Junior Lauren Mathis
On the catching change in the first inning…
“Hannah [Coulter], in the bullpen, catches us great every day in practice, and every day before we go on the field if we’re playing. She’s just a spark. She’s something different. She’s confident in everything she does, and I’m so happy she got the opportunity to get in the game today.”
On topping her career high in strikeouts…
“It feels great right now. I didn’t know I was doing it, but I learned in meeting after the game, and it felt good knowing I had worked for my team and fought for them.”
Associate Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On recognizing a team bond…
“I think they’re really together, and the synergy in the dugout and on the field really showed up tonight. That’s a big part of who we are, and that was one of the more disappointing things from this past weekend that I don’t know if we were necessarily the best version of ourselves. If we go out there and do our thing and they beat us, then you tip your hat to them. But I don’t know if we really did our thing. Synergy is a big part of that when the girls are locked in with each other and committed to playing Georgia Softball.”
On how the losses from this past weekend affected their approach…
“I think anytime you don’t get the results you want, you have to do a little reevaluation and self-evaluation. I think the story is that we didn’t go down there and give our best version to the tournament. That’s really disappointing, but you can’t go back and redo it. You just have to go back and be committed to trying to be that your next time out. We’re only as gritty and tough as we are in our next game, and that’s the mindset. We have to get ready to go this weekend and put it all back together like we did tonight.”