Tony Baldwin praises Georgia softball seniors on Senior Day vs. rival Florida

Georgia softball has no shortage of veteran leadership. The programs boasts 10 seniors this season. During a break in the action of the Bulldogs’ matchup against No. 12 Florida on Sunday, Georgia head coach Tony Baldwin raved about his senior group.

“They’ve just put all their heart and soul into it,” Baldwin said. “They care. I’ve said that a bunch of times. They just really care. They want to make our fans happy. They want to make their families happy, and they really want to do it for each other. I think that’s what makes them special, and they’re pretty talented too. That helps.”

It helps indeed. Georgia entered Sunday’s contest as the No. 9 team in the country, holding a 37-12 record and an 11-9 mark in conference play. After falling in the first matchup of the three-game series against Florida, Georgia tallied five home runs to secure a Game 2 win.

Fittingly, all five of the home runs were hit by Georgia seniors. After the game, Baldwin praised his team’s resiliency following a painful Game 1 loss.

“I’m just proud of the resilience that we showed,” Baldwin said. “Sometimes when you’re in a tough spot, the first sign of adversity just reverts back to you thinking, ‘here we go again.’ But I thought we really dug in today and competed. Really proud of our seniors.

“Just fun to see them settle in and just play softball. To let some of the burden go and just compete. When we play with that kind of freedom, we can be a pretty good team.”

Georgia’s seniors have proven they’re capable of big things. The group has boosted the program to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances after missing the postseason event in 2020. In 2021, Georgia reached the Women’s College World Series, but has not returned since.

Baldwin is hopeful his seniors can close their illustrious careers with a storybook finish.

“They’re good people,” Baldwin said. “They’re really loyal. At the end of the day, some of these players have been here four, five, six years. This is a class that was recruited before the recruiting changes, so some of them you know, I recruited Jayda Kearney when she was 13, and now she’s 22, 23 years old.

“I’ve been around them a long time, so just gonna miss that part of it. But, you know, I really just love them. I’m proud of them. I appreciate them and certainly want us to get rolling so that they can finish on a high note.”