Arkansas softball beats No.3 Georgia in Athens

ATHENS, Ga. – The third-ranked Georgia softball team lost 8-2 to No. 20 Arkansas in Monday’s series finale in front of 2,057 fans at Jack Turner Stadium.

Georgia falls to 29-6 on the season and 6-3 in SEC play.

Five different Georgia’s five hits in the game came from five different Bulldogs. Jayda Kearney was a bright spot at the plate, hitting a two-run home run in the third.

Madison Kerpics pitched one inning in her start. She allowed two runs on two hits. Shelby Walters pitched two and a third scoreless innings out of the pen. Lilli Backes (12-3) suffered the loss, allowing six runs on five hits.

Arkansas (26-9, 5-4) home runs in the first and second put the Razorbacks ahead 2-0.

Kearney tied the game with one swing of the bat, using a two-run home run to send the game to the fourth all square at 2-all. The homer was her 14th of the season.

The Razorbacks used an RBI base hit in the fifth to retake the lead, 3-2. A five-run seventh inning highlighted by a grand slam put the Hogs way out in front 8-2.

Georgia hosts Mercer on Wednesday at Jack Turner Stadium in midweek action. First pitch between the Bulldogs and Bears is set for 6 p.m.

Head Coach Tony Baldwin

On Monday’s game…

“It was a competitive weekend. Every weekend in the SEC is like that, so every weekend you play a team that’s as good as you are. And tonight we just didn’t win enough of the moments to turn it in our favor. … Our goal, every time we have a day off, is to fill back up our bucket mentally, physically, emotionally, so that the next time we’re ready to put ourselves out there. At the end of the day, that’s what this is about is just learning to put ourselves out there. Take the risk. Shoot our shot, and sometimes it goes in sometimes it doesn’t. Today, it didn’t go our way, but we’ll be back ready to go for it on Wednesday and then head up to Knoxville and take on a really good Tennessee team.”