Unseeded teams typically don't advance to the Women’s College World Series. It just doesn’t happen.
Before Game 2 of the Gainesville Super Regional between Georgia and No. 4 seed Florida, you had to go all the way back to 2012 to find the last time it occurred. In fact, it had only been done seven times.
Make it eight.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs completed what many no doubt thought impossible. Georgia blanked the SEC champion Gators 6-0 to advance to the WCWS for the fifth time, the program’s first trip since 2018.
“We just play with a lot of synergy, a lot of heart, grit, guts—the entire team as a whole,” said Georgia head coach Lu Harris-Champer.
She wasn’t kidding.
The Bulldogs had dropped seven straight games heading into the NCAA Tournament, but with five straight wins, they're heading to Oklahoma City, where they will open against the winner of the Texas Super Regional between the Lady Longhorns and Oklahoma State.
“I think it’s just the continued belief in each other. We could have gotten down on each other, but we didn’t,” Harris-Champer said. “They stayed strong for each other. At the end of the day, I think you have that trust with each other. That was the difference for us.”
It was a dominant weekend for the Bulldogs (34-32), who dropped two of three to Florida in Athens back in April—the final two games by scores of 17-1 and 8-1.
It was all Georgia this time around.
Saturday, the Bulldogs blasted three home runs—one each by Jaiden Fields (her second in two days), Jayda Kearney, and Sydney Kuma, while pitcher Mary Wilson Avant dominated Florida from the circle.
Just one day after blanking Florida on three hits in Georgia’s 4-0 win over Friday, Avant scattered four hits with four strikeouts in Saturday’s WCWS-clinching win.
It marked the first time Florida has dropped back-to-back games all season long. In two games, Avant (20-10) pitched all 14 innings, allowed just seven hits, with one walk and 13 strikeouts.
“It’s a lot about the mindset you come in with. I’ve kind of adjusted as the season has gone on, really focusing on having an attack mindset, and going for the pitches I want, seeing the pitches I want, and then staying loose and having fun with it,” Avant said. “Savana (Sikes) and Lacey (Fincher) on the corners, they’re my best friends, and they’re out there, cracking jokes and keeping me loose.”
Harris-Champer could not have been more pleased.
“I think she really went out and trusted her stuff. Coach (Rachele) Fico and Mary came up with a great game plan, and she executed the plan,” Harris-Champer said. “They talk about things between innings. Mary is able to tell him things she’s thinking. They really work hard together, and I’m just really proud of her going out and playing with joy, letting her team have her back.”
Georgia’s bats made sure Avant could relax even more.
In the two games, Georgia out-hit Florida 14-7, homering four times, including Saturday’s two-run shot by Kuma in the fifth that extended the lead to 5-0. It was a no-doubter. Kuma’s home run bounced off a palm tree in center field, a shot that effectively took the starch out of Florida for the rest of the game.
“It was just our determination to get on their pitchers. We’ve been practicing all this time to get it done, to get it done early. It helps Mary to get those points up so early, because it takes some pressure off her back,” Kuma said. “But we really were just determined, we wanted to get our pitch, and when we got our pitch to get a good swing on it, and that’s what we did.”
As a result, the Bulldogs are headed back to Oklahoma City.
“There’s something just so tenacious about them. It’s a blessing to be with this team. They really just have a lot of guts and a lot of heart. When you have that, you can go a long way, you can get knocked out and stand back up,” Harris-Champer said. “That’s part of it. Not every day is going to go smooth sailing. That’s part of life. You’ve got to be able to get back up and respond, be able to focus on what you want, and the good things that can happen.”
