A 10-3 victory over the UCLA Bruins on the first day of the Women’s College World Series will keep the Tigers in the winner’s bracket. Now, the Auburn softball team will face off against familiar foe and conference opponent Georgia.
Georgia (46-18) will face off against the Tigers after being swept on the Plains and outscored 19-6 in the regular season. The 16th seeded Bulldogs swept the number one seed Florida Gators in the Gainesville, Florida super regional on May 26-27 and defeated Florida State 5-4 in the first game of the WCWS on Thursday.
The Bulldogs are coached by Lu Harris-Champer, who is in her 16th season with the Bulldogs and is coaching in her 15th consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Tigers can expect to see Chelsea Wilkinson or Brittany Gray in the circle for Saturday’s matchup.
A First Team All-SEC pitcher, Wilkison is Georgia’s primary pitcher and has an ERA of 1.84 with a 27-7 record. Gray has a record of 11-9 and holds a 3.24 ERA. Offensively, Georgia is led by Sydni Emanuel and Alyssa DiCarlo. Emanuel has a batting average of .452 and has recorded more than 80 hits on the season. Dicarlo has a batting average of .375 and has 11 home runs with 63 RBI’s on the season.
Auburn head coach Clint Myers and pitching coach Corey Meyers will likely rely on the pitching of Kaylee Carlson or Rachael Walters in Saturday’s matchup. Carlson got the start on Thursday against UCLA and threw her 10th complete game of the season. Carlson gave up only three runs and improved her record to 17-3.
First pitch for Saturday's matchup is set for 6 p.m. CST. The contest will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
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