Sara Mosley adds another homer to career record as Georgia softball trumps UNCW
Georgia softball defeated UNCW on Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Athens Regional, 8-0 in five innings.
The Bulldogs advance to the second round Saturday at 11 a.m. to play Liberty, while UNCW falls to the elimination bracket to face Charlotte at 1:30 p.m. The winner of Georgia/Liberty will go on to the finals on Sunday.
"Really pleased with the mindset we had," head coach Tony Baldwin said. "I thought the defense was really sharp, (Madison) controlled things in the circle, turning in the double plays and getting a couple of lead runners, things that we've been working on. It was really great to see our team put that into play, and I thought our hitters did a good job of controlling the strike zone and Sara certainly got the big hit to kind of take some of the pressure off and just let us play softball the rest of the game."
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The game was intense out of the gate, after Madison Kerpics retired the entire UNCW batting lineup like ducks in a row, one, two, three.
Dallis Goodnight, Sydney Chambley and Jayda Kearney all managed to get on base when Georgia took over at the plate, whether by walking or, in Chambley's case, getting hit by the pitch.
With bases loaded, Sara Mosley, the home run queen, stepped up to the plate. Two strikes and two balls were all it took before she cracked her 63rd career homer over the center field wall. The crowd was loud as Georgia went up a swift 4-0.
Mosley now sits five below the record (68) for career home runs in UGA softball history. The record is held by current volunteer coach Alyssa DiCarlo, who played for UGA from 2016-19 and was a two-time All American.
"It was awesome," Mosley said. "We were just having fun with each other and really just competing together and investing in each other. Outcomes are going to take care of themselves when you're doing things."
The second and third innings were easy for Kerpics and in the bottom of the third, Kearney shot one right at the pitcher, hitting her in the glove, and still managed to make it to first base. She scored on the next play after a muffed throw from the second baseman. Sydney Kuma followed suit, stealing second and then scoring right after to put the Dawgs up 6-0 after only three.
In the bottom of the fifth, with the run-rule leaning over their shoulders giving them a nudge, the Bulldogs prevailed. Kearney doubled to second, and Hayley Eaton was brought in to pinch run, scoring on the very next play as Mosley singled up the middle. Mosley was replaced by Hannah Davila, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and then proceeded to steal third as Kuma flied out to right field.
It was Davila who brought it home for the Bulldogs in the end. Kerpics held it down in the circle with a 2.94 ERA and only allowing two walks. She was the only one to pitch in Friday's outing.
"It's so nice having all the pressure off me and being able to pitch out there freely," Kerpics said. "I just love out offense, they're frickin' amazing. Sorry about the frickin'. I just love this team and when they can do that for me, it makes me want to go out there and do better."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia softball trumps UNCW in first round off Mosley's four-run homer
