Georgia 4, Florida 0
Friday, May 28, 2021 | Softball, Chris Harry
NCAA TOURNAMENT / GAINESVILLE REGIONAL
GEORGIA 4, FLORIDA 0
WHAT HAPPENED: A three-run homer in the top of the seventh by Payden Bordeau gave pitcher Mary Wilson Avant all the insurance she and the unseeded/rival Bulldogs needed Friday night to take their NCAA Super Regional best-of-three opener against the host and fourth-seeded Gators at Pressly Stadium. Avant handcuffed UF, allowing just three hits and no runners past second base, while Bordeau's late-game smash paired with an earlier solo shot from Jaiden Fields in the second. Fields' homer made it 1-0 and that's where it stood over the next four-plus frames, as the Gators' bats were quiet most of the night, except for a couple doubles from Kendyl Lindaman -- UF left the tying run at second both times -- and a two-out single in the fifth by Cheyene Lindsey (Hannah Adams followed with a flyout to left). In taking just her third loss of the season, Florida starting pitcher Natalie Lugo (17-3, 1.88 ERA) gave up six hits and the four runs, all of them earned, before being lifted with one out in the seventh for Rylee Trlicek.
PLAY OF THE GAME: The Bulldogs, up 1-0, had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the fifth when Ellie Armistead bounced a hard grounder to third. UF's Charla Echols snared the ball on a hop, threw to catcher Julia Cottrill for the force out, with Cottrill firing back to third to try and double up Bordeau. The throw was a smidge late, but Bordeau slide past the bag and was tagged out by shortstop Sarah Longley covering. Lugo got the next batter to line to center and kept the margin at a manageable one-run deficit, and kept Florida in a game that could easily have been blown up early.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Make that two wins over the Gators for Avant (19-10, 2.69 ERA) this season. She one-hit UF and fanned six in a 4-2 win on April 3 to open a three-game regular-season series in Athens, Ga. Two days later, though, Florida banged out seven hits, including a three-run homer by Echols in the top of the first, and beat Avant by an 8-1. She made up for that one.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Gators went 0-for-6 with runners on base and 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Compare that to the Bulldogs, whose No. 6 through 9 hitters combined to go 6-for-9, plus another three walks. Fields, batting seventh, went 3-for-3 and Bordeau, batting eighth, went 2-for-3, and accounted for all four Bulldogs runs.
UP NEXT: Florida (45-10) and Georgia (33-21) will meet Saturday in Game 2 at noon, with the Gators' season on the line. A win for the Bulldogs means a two-game sweep of the Super and thus a repeat of when the two teams met here in the 2016 Super round, a postseason UF entered as the two-time defending NCAA champion. Florida has won each of the last three Super regionals, while UGA will try to make its first trip to Oklahoma City since 2018.
GEORGIA 4, FLORIDA 0
WHAT HAPPENED: A three-run homer in the top of the seventh by Payden Bordeau gave pitcher Mary Wilson Avant all the insurance she and the unseeded/rival Bulldogs needed Friday night to take their NCAA Super Regional best-of-three opener against the host and fourth-seeded Gators at Pressly Stadium. Avant handcuffed UF, allowing just three hits and no runners past second base, while Bordeau's late-game smash paired with an earlier solo shot from Jaiden Fields in the second. Fields' homer made it 1-0 and that's where it stood over the next four-plus frames, as the Gators' bats were quiet most of the night, except for a couple doubles from Kendyl Lindaman -- UF left the tying run at second both times -- and a two-out single in the fifth by Cheyene Lindsey (Hannah Adams followed with a flyout to left). In taking just her third loss of the season, Florida starting pitcher Natalie Lugo (17-3, 1.88 ERA) gave up six hits and the four runs, all of them earned, before being lifted with one out in the seventh for Rylee Trlicek.
PLAY OF THE GAME: The Bulldogs, up 1-0, had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the fifth when Ellie Armistead bounced a hard grounder to third. UF's Charla Echols snared the ball on a hop, threw to catcher Julia Cottrill for the force out, with Cottrill firing back to third to try and double up Bordeau. The throw was a smidge late, but Bordeau slide past the bag and was tagged out by shortstop Sarah Longley covering. Lugo got the next batter to line to center and kept the margin at a manageable one-run deficit, and kept Florida in a game that could easily have been blown up early.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Make that two wins over the Gators for Avant (19-10, 2.69 ERA) this season. She one-hit UF and fanned six in a 4-2 win on April 3 to open a three-game regular-season series in Athens, Ga. Two days later, though, Florida banged out seven hits, including a three-run homer by Echols in the top of the first, and beat Avant by an 8-1. She made up for that one.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Gators went 0-for-6 with runners on base and 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Compare that to the Bulldogs, whose No. 6 through 9 hitters combined to go 6-for-9, plus another three walks. Fields, batting seventh, went 3-for-3 and Bordeau, batting eighth, went 2-for-3, and accounted for all four Bulldogs runs.
UP NEXT: Florida (45-10) and Georgia (33-21) will meet Saturday in Game 2 at noon, with the Gators' season on the line. A win for the Bulldogs means a two-game sweep of the Super and thus a repeat of when the two teams met here in the 2016 Super round, a postseason UF entered as the two-time defending NCAA champion. Florida has won each of the last three Super regionals, while UGA will try to make its first trip to Oklahoma City since 2018.
Players Mentioned
INF
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C
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3B
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1B
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UTL
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RHP
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LHP
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