UGA Softball: Georgia, Furman Battle in Doubleheader Wednesday

#14 Georgia (22-5)
vs. Furman (7-17)
Date: Mar. 11, 2020
First Pitch: 2 p.m. (doubleheader)
Location: Athens, Ga.
Stadium: Jack Turner Stadium
Admission: FREE

Media Information
Streaming: SEC Network+
Play-by-play: Kaleb Frady
Analyst: Karlie Smith
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball

The 14th-ranked Georgia softball team hosts the Furman Paladins in a doubleheader Wednesday at Jack Turner Stadium. First pitch of the twin bill is set for 2 p.m.

This Wednesday’s Promotions
» Admission to every home regular season Georgia softball game is FREE
» $1 hot dogs will be available at the concession stands

Follow the Bulldogs
» Wednesday’s games will stream live on SEC Network+. Kaleb Frady will call play-by-play while Karlie Smith will provide color analysis.
» Live stats will be available for all games. Live stat links can be found on the softball schedule at GeorgiaDogs.com.
» Live Twitter updates will be available at the official Twitter page of Georgia softball, @UGAsoftball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series History
» Georgia leads the all-time series 18-1
» The last 17 meetings have all been in Athens after the first two were on the road for Georgia
» These teams have not met since 2014
» Georgia has won the last 15 meetings

Looking Back
Georgia hosted #15 South Carolina on SEC opening weekend. The Gamecocks were victorious in the opener, 4-2. Tied at two in the second game, Georgia plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth to open a 5-2 lead. In the top of the seventh, South Carolina capitalized on a defensive miscues to use a bases-loaded double to knot the game and force extra innings. In the bottom of the ninth, an errant throw on a rundown between third and home allowed Tyler Armistead to score the winning run and tie the series. Georgia brought out the bats in game three, run-ruling the Gamecocks 11-3 in five innings to win the series.

A Look at What’s Ahead
Georgia treks to #20 Arkansas this weekend for its first road test of Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs and Razorbacks open the series Friday at 7 p.m., ET. Saturday and Sunday’s games will begin at 5 p.m. and will air nationally on SEC Network. Georgia then hosts Oklahoma State at Jack Turner Stadium next Wednesday in a midweek matchup on ESPNU.

Big Bat Bryan
Senior Ciara Bryan currently ranks seventh in the country with 10 home runs, a figure that leads the SEC. Bryan has almost matched her 11 from last season, which is a career best for her. She picked up her first multi-home run game against South Carolina on Mar. 7. Bryan currently ranks sixth in runs per game (1.33) and ninth nationally in total bases (69).

Bryan knocked a total of three home runs in five games in Clearwater, Florida. Bryan’s tally was the most of any player from the 16 teams that competed in Clearwater.

Rookie Rockstars 
The freshman duo of Sara Mosley and Sydney Kuma have made an immediate impact in Georgia’s lineup. With a team-best 31 RBI, Mosley ranks ninth in the country and second in the SEC. Mosley has also knocked five home runs, second-most on the team. Kuma leads the squad with a .429 batting average, which is top-five in the conference. Her 30 hits and .545 on-base percentage also rank top-10 in the SEC. Kuma is the only Bulldog to start every game at the same position (short) and Mosley has made all but one start at third base.

Pitching Staff Locks In
With three shutouts in the Bulldog Classic, Georgia has nine shutouts this season, ranking seventh in the country. Individually, Lauren Mathis ranks fifth in the country (first in the SEC) with 12.5 strikeouts per seven innings while Mary Wilson Avant ranks ninth (11.2). Avant (116) and Mathis (82) rank one and three in the SEC in total strikeouts.

Avant Pitches Lights Out in Bulldog Classic
Senior Mary Wilson Avant had a terrific weekend in the circle during the Bulldog Classic Feb. 28-Mar. 1. She finished 3-0 in the circle, allowing just three hits in 18 shutout innings. She worked back-to-back seven-inning, complete-game shutouts against Eastern Illinois and Boston College, becoming the first Bulldog to do so since Erin Arevalo in 2012. In the win over EIU, she recorded a new career-best 15 strikeouts, the first Bulldog to hit that mark since Chelsea Wilkinson against Western Kentucky in 2015. In the weekend finale against Western Carolina, she combined with fellow senior Amanda Ablan to no-hit the Catamounts. She concluded the weekend with 33 strikeouts.

Georgia in the Polls
In the Week 5 polls, Georgia dropped one spot to a ranking of #14 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and #14 in the USA Softball/ESPN.com Poll. D1Softball and Softball America gave Georgia a #14 ranking.

Bulldogs Wrap a Full First Month of Play
The Bulldogs played 24 total games in the first four weeks of the 2020 season; that’s 42 percent of 56 scheduled games. Georgia played the most games in the SEC in the first month of play. Not only did Georgia play a lot of games, the Bulldogs also faced four top-25 opponents in Northwestern, Texas Tech, UCLA, and James Madison. 17 of Georgia’s first 24 games were played in Athens.

In as Few Innings as Possible 
Georgia opened the season with seven-straight run-rule victories. The Bulldogs last began the season with seven-straight run-rule victories in 2016 when they run-ruled their opponent in the first 10 games, the program record.

Most notably, Georgia run-ruled #21 James Madison in back-to-back games in the Georgia Classic. In all, Georgia has won in run-rule fashion 15 of its 22 victories.