Dates: May 21-23, 2021

Location: Athens, Ga.

Stadium: Jack Turner Stadium

Participating Teams:  No. 13 Duke (42-10) Georgia (29-21) Western Kentucky (31-13) UNCG (34-15)

Regional Schedule:

Friday Game 1 – No. 13 Duke vs. UNCG – 12 p.m., ET (ACC Network) Game 2 – Georgia vs. Western Kentucky – 2:30 p.m., ET (ESPN 3)

Saturday Game 3 – Winners of Game 1 and 2 – 12 p.m., ET Game 4 – Losers of Game 1 and 2 – 2:30 p.m. Game 5 – Winner of Game 4 and Loser of Game 3 – 5 p.m., ET

Sunday Game 6 – Winners of Game 3 and 5 – 12 p.m., ET Game 7 – (if  necessary) – 2:30 p.m.

Media Information

TV: Networks TBD    Play-by-play: Alex Perlman    Analysis: Francesca Enea

Streaming: ESPN app (all games)

Live Stats: NCAA.com

Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball

Tournament Central: GeorgiaDogs.com

Georgia softball is set to make its 19th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend. The Bulldogs will host the Athens Regional at Jack Turner Stadium, playing host to national seed Duke, Western Kentucky, and UNCG.  The Bulldogs will play Western Kentucky in the opening round Friday at 2:30 p.m., ET. No.13 Duke will take on UNCG will open the regional at noon Friday.

Follow the Bulldogs » Friday’s Georgia game against Western Kentucky will stream on ESPN 3. The Duke and UNCG game will air on ACC Network. Alex Perlman (play-by-play) and Francesca Enea (analysis) will be on the call for the Athens Regional.  » TV networks and streaming platforms will be determined as the weekend progresses.  » All games of the Athens Regional can be streamed on the ESPN app.  » Live stat links can be found on the softball schedule at GeorgiaDogs.com as well as the interactive bracket on NCAA.com. » Live Twitter updates will be available at the official Twitter page of Georgia softball, @UGAsoftball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN

Series Histories

Duke » Duke and Georgia have never played each other on the softball field

Western Kentucky » Georgia leads the all-time series 5-1 » All six meetings have been in Athens » The last time these teams met was in the 2015 Athens Regional. WKU won the opening game in 14 innings. The Bulldogs turned around and run-ruled WKU twice to win the regional and advance to the Ann Arbor Super Regional.

UNCG » Georgia leads the all-time series 6-0 » All six meetings have been in Athens » The Bulldogs and Spartans last met twice in the Bulldog Classic in 2018

A Look at What’s Ahead The winner of the Athens Regional will advance to play the winner of the Gainesville Regional hosted by No. 4 Florida. The Gators will be hosting Baylor, South Alabama, and USF this weekend.

NCAA Tournament Tidbits » 2021 will be Georgia’s 19th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance » Georgia’s all-time record in postseason is 69-39 including 52-19 in regional play » Jack Turner Stadium will host its 11th NCAA Regional. Athens has hosted five Super Regionals, most recently 2018 » As a team, Georgia has advanced to 10 Super Regionals and four Women’s College World Series, most recently 2018. Georgia has never advanced to a Super Regional when it wasn’t a national seed (national seeding began in 2007)  » In Athens, Georgia is 40-11 in postseason play; the Bulldogs swept their way to Oklahoma City in 2018, defeating Harvard, Northwestern, and No. 10 Tennessee in Athens. The last postseason loss in Athens was May 22, 2016 against Oklahoma State » Western Kentucky is the lone team in the regional Georgia has ever met in the postseason. WKU came to Athens in 2015. The Hilltoppers took the opening game in 14 innings but Georgia came back to run-rule WKU twice to win the regional.  » Georgia has played the No. 13 national seed only twice in postseason play. 13th-seeded Baylor defeated the Bulldogs twice in the 2014 Athens Super Regional.  » In her 25-year career, head coach Lu Harris-Champer has taken teams to 23 regional appearances, advancing to 12 Super Regionals and six Women’s College World Series

Kuma Named SEC All-Newcomer Team Sydney Kuma concluded the season hitting .296. She knocked a team-best 14 home runs and drove in a team-high 34 runs on 47 hits. She also touched home more than any Bulldog, scoring 36 times. In SEC play, Kuma scattered 19 hits and drove in 10 runs. She started every game of the season at second base, the only Bulldogs to start all 49 games at the same position in 2021.

Chambley Named SEC All-Freshman Team Georgia native Sydney Chambley was one of two Bulldogs to hit north of .300 on the season. She hit nine home runs and drove in 29 runners. She led the SEC with six triples and joined Kuma as the only Bulldogs to top 40 hits. Chambley assisted on four putouts from the outfield on the season.

Kearney Named SEC All-Freshman Team Jayda Kearney was Georgia’s leading hitter in conference play, hitting .286 with 18 hits. She tied a team high with five home runs in SEC play with 13 RBI. On the season, Kearney scored 20 runs, drove in 23, and was a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen bases.

Avant Earns Spot on SEC Softball Community Service Team This is Avant’s second appointment to the SEC Community Service Team, earning a spot on the 2019 team as well. The Macon native serves as the chair of the Social Committee within SAAC. She has spearheaded the student-athletes collection of back packs and supplies for Bigger Vision Community Shelter for the homeless. Avant has volunteered with the Georgia/Auburn challenge collecting toiletries and personal hygiene items for The Cottage, an agency that raises awareness and facilitates the healing of individuals, families, and communities affected by sexual violence and child abuse. She also collected healthy snacks “Food2Kids” for the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. She has also been a Special Olympics volunteer and Food Bank “Hunger Bowl” volunteer.

Georgia Rounds Out Top 25-Packed Stretch The Bulldogs recently rounded out a stretch of 17 games against six ranked opponents, with all but one being top 10. Georgia earned five victories against those opponents. After the stretch, Georgia’s RPI checked in at 14 and its strength of schedule was fourth-best in the country.

Bulldogs Dig the Long Ball Georgia ranks 16th in the country with 1.44 home runs per game. Georgia’s 32 home runs in SEC games ranked second in the SEC. The Bulldogs tied a season-high five home runs against Missouri (3/20) including four in the first inning. The Bulldogs hit three-straight in the inning, the first time since 2018 against Florida. Georgia’s .489 slugging percentage is 34th nationally.

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