Winning pitcher: Lilli Backes (17-6)
Loser: Elena Escobar (16-6)
Game 2 – Softball | vs. Freedom | W, 3-2

Winning pitcher: Lilli Backes (18-6)
Loser: Elena Escobar (16-7)
Season record: 43-17

Bulldogs punch ticket to NCAA Super Regionals, beating Liberty twice on Sunday

ATHENS, Georgia. – The No. 11-seeded Georgia softball team defeated the Liberty Flames twice on Sunday to book its ticket to the NCAA Super Regionals.

The Bulldogs beat Liberty 14-5 in Game 6 of the Athens Regional with six home runs, forcing a winner-take-all in Game 7. It was a pitchers' duel for most of the game, but there were heroics in the seventh inning Dallis Goodnight And Sydney Chambley gave Georgia a 3-2 win and a spot in the Super Regionals.

Game 1 Fast Facts

• Jayda Kearney And Sarah Mosley Each hit a home run and recorded number 20 of the season for both. They are the first Georgia teammates to hit 20 home runs in the same season.
• Georgia's six home runs are the Bulldogs' most in a single game since March 5, 2016 against Austin Peay.
• Mosley inches closer to hitting a career record of 68 home runs, now at 65.
• Georgia scattered a season-high 17 hits, eight of which went for extra bases (2 doubles, 6 home runs).
• Sydney Chambley scored four hits and recorded her seventh career day with two home runs.
• Lyndi Rae Davis joined Chambley and Kearney with three RBI each.

Fast Facts on Game 2

• This will be Georgia's 13th^Th Super regional appearance in the program's history. The Bulldogs last made back-to-back Super Regional appearances in 2015 and 2016.
• 43 wins with draws, the most in the Tony Baldwin era, which equates to 43 in his first season in 2022.
• Lilli Backes pitched a complete game in the circle, allowing two runs on four hits for the Flames. She walked none and struck out two. She finished the day with 10 pitched and a third inning.
• 2-1 deficit until the end of the seventh quarter, Emily Digby She got her second hit of the game with a one-out single and was then moved to second Ellie Armistead. Digby scored with a single back up the middle of the bat Dallis Goodnight to end the game 2-2 with two losses.
• After an impressive Game 6, Sydney Chambley sent the first pitch she saw over the center fielder's head to bring in Goodnight and run away with a 3-2 lead.

Key quotes
Head coach Tony Baldwin

On the difficulty of the day…
“Wow! What a day! I'm just grateful for all the people who put the event together this weekend and dealt with all the circumstances and the weather and different things. A lot of people who were involved put this together. Hats off to Liberty. The.” A competitor on their team appeared and they were certainly a worthy opponent. And Elena [Escobar]the way she recovered in the second game was as good as any we've ever seen. I mean, we played against them all. Maybe there are one or two out there that we haven't seen yet, but it seems like we've seen all the top players and she was just as good today executing her throws and the spin and changes of speed were really good. I'm just proud of our team and their fighting spirit. I think we obviously came out with a lot of fighting spirit in the first game, got some good shots to hit and did well there. And sometimes when things are going well, when there's a gap like that, when everything just goes right in the first game, the second game is a real mental challenge because as soon as things maybe don't go that way, you start to go, “Oh no!” to think. And we may have done that for a few innings, but I think we really got back into contention and then we showed the spirit and the competitiveness that our group has and I'm just really proud of them.”

The team showed some strength…
“Lili B[ackes] was incredible, such a competitor. And then I thought our defense was great. We played a lot of really good games. I played clean softball all weekend. Again, I can't emphasize enough how proud I am of our group. How excited and thrilled we are to be able to play more softball. When we set out this weekend, that was the goal. This isn't supposed to be the end, and luckily that's why it worked out.

Here's to the impressive defensive plays the team made today…
“When I was fortunate enough to become head coach, we set a goal of becoming one of the better defensive teams in the country. To achieve what we want, you have to be great in all three phases. And I don't know if we're there yet, but we're on the right track and making progress. Without the defense and JT we won't get the results today [D’Amico] does a great job. That's why we were really happy to bring him to Athens. He invests in our players. Our players are prepared. He works well with Chelsea [Wilkinson] where we need to be to defend this particular batsman. And ultimately we're a pretty athletic team, so that gives us the opportunity to make some plays. I won't pound my chest, but I will pound my chest. I'll take [Sydney Kuma’s] athletic ability at second base above anyone else in the country. She can make plays that not many people can. [Dallis Goodnight] I can get them as well as anyone. [Jaydin Goodwin] just has a knack for how the ball runs in her glove. It's not always the prettiest thing you've ever seen, but it seems that she and Ellie really like the glove [Armistead] made some incredible pieces. [Emily Digby] made a difference for us at first base with some of her defensive plays. I was really proud of Lyndi Rae [Davis]. I thought she caught really well today. She jumped out and threw up a bunt, made a bunt play and worked really hard for our pitchers. So yeah, defensively I thought we were really strong, and if we continue to do that, we can compete at a pretty high level.”

Dallas Goodnight | Jr.
On the difference between games against the same pitcher…

“Just staying within ourselves and doing what Georgia softball does without worrying about the other team. She's a great competitor, a great thrower. So we just do our thing and trust ourselves and our process.”

Sydney Chambley | Sr.
About their hit…

“I think about what my teammates got me in this position, the trust in my teammates got me there, so I'm going to get the job done. For them and just seeing the ball, hitting the ball and everything.”

On the difference between games against the same pitcher…

“I think if you get caught up in how they throw or what they throw, that's just going to lead to failure because then you start thinking less about us as a team. The less we think, the better we do. “We should always be competitive that way, play softball, and see the ball that way. She's just a great thrower, but how can we be so competitive? inning and it's about finding a way to just make it happen, whether we get the result or not like we've said all season, it doesn't matter.

Next

Georgia will face the winner of the Los Angeles Regional between No. 6 UCLA and Grand Canyon next weekend in the Super Regional round.