Georgia softball (39-16) returns to Jack Turner Stadium this Friday to host its very own NCAA Regional.
This is the first time there will be back-to-back postseason starts in the Classic City since the Bulldogs' three-consecutive hosting gigs from 2014-2016. UNCW (33-21), Charlotte (38-16) and Liberty (36-23) are lumped in the group, with the Bulldogs facing the Seahawks first on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
The winner of the Athens Regional will go on to face the winner of the Los Angeles Regional, which houses nationally ranked No. 6 UCLA, Virginia Tech, San Diego State and Grand Canyon.
The Bulldogs are coming into the NCAA Tournament off an SEC Tournament quarterfinals loss to Florida, which is also hosting an NCAA Regional of its own in Gainesville. Georgia fell to the Gators, who went on to win the conference title, in a 9-4 slugfest in Auburn last weekend.
Here are some things to know about the field before first pitch on Friday, and a prediction of who will make it out of Athens alive.
The triple threat of Georgia's offense
If Georgia has anything, it's the combination of Dallis Goodnight, Jayda Kearney and Sara Mosley. They've remained poised under pressure this year, with high expectations riding on their shoulders from the get-go.
Together, the junior and two seniors have recorded 142 hits, 37 home runs and 121 RBIs. They have a collective batting average of .342 and a collective slugging percentage of .606. All three of them earned SEC honors, with Goodnight to the second team and Kearney and Mosley on the first team.
Kearney led the SEC with 17 RBI of her own, tying her for 10th most in the league. Both Kearney and Mosley hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the sixth inning in the SEC quarterfinals versus Florida, moving Kearney to third all-time with 59 career home runs and Mosley in second all-time with 62 — the record is 68, set by Alyssa DiCarlo. They had a similar game against Florida in their regular season matchup at home on April 27, hitting balls to the yard back-to-back.
Georgia's pitching by committee rotation
Georgia has been rotating the same three pitchers most of the season and it's been working out in its favor. Junior Lilli Backes, fifth year Shelby Walters and senior Madison Kerpics are a dynamic trio with a combined ERA of 2.90, 245 strikeouts and 118 walks. They allowed 283 hits, 165 runs and 42 home runs in 331.3 innings played.
The first glimpse fans got of the trio was when then top-10 ranked Clemson came to town at the start of March. It made for significant purpose and potential resurgence against a good team then and it still is today.
"We're all such different pitchers," Backes had said that night after the win. "I think it's hard for other teams to prepare all three different types of pitchers. We complement each other really well."
What to know about the other three teams at the Athens Regional?
UNCW
The Seahawks won their conference title (Coastal Athletic Association) to draw a bid in to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. They upset the CAA's top two seeds and then hit a comeback in the championship game.
Junior Kara Hammock threw three complete game victories for the Seahawks, including an 11-inning shutout, and both Hammock and junior Emily Winstead recorded every out in this year's tournament. Hammock was named the CAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
The Bulldogs and Seahawks have met six times in history, the most recent being in 2020.
Charlotte
The Niners won their conference (American Athletic Conference) as well to draw a bid in to the NCAA Tournament. This will be their second consecutive postseason appearance and they won 16-games straight for a program record on the way in, flattening Wichita State 10-1 in the championship game for their first AAC title ever.
The Niners are rebuilding under fifth-year head coach Ashley Chastain, winning three conference championships, recording two NCAA Regional appearances and compiling 108-62 overall record since 2022.
The Bulldogs and Niners met last season, with the latter claiming victory 6-5 in Athens.
Liberty
The Lady Flames won their Conference USA Tournament as well to draw a bid in to the NCAA Tournament. This will be the seventh time ever they head to Regionals, and fourth consecutive after receiving an at-large bid last season.
They fell in the first round of the CUSA Tournament, only to rally back and stomp on New Mexico in a rematch for the winner-takes-all final. They overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 against Western Kentucky, winning the championship thanks to a walk-off RBI double by redshirt freshman Savannah Jessee in the ninth.
The Bulldogs and Lady Flames met twice in 2022 at the NCAA Durham Regional, splitting their meetings an even 1-1.
Prediction for NCAA Athens Regional
It's tough to determine, but most likely Georgia itself will be the one alive at the end of the Athens Regional.
All three teams Georgia is hosting have won their respective conference titles, and while the Bulldogs didn't, thanks to Florida, they still managed to keep pace and have a great regular season run, going 39-16 against some devastatingly stacked opponents while remaining in the top-25 polls the entire time.
Also, when they started the season, they had 10 top-25 teams on their schedule.
They just met an unfortunate early end in the SEC due to it being a high caliber softball conference.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia softball scouting report, prediction in NCAA Athens Regional
