Georgia softball: One of Georgia’s youngest, yet most dominant programs

Georgia softball is a month through the 2020 season and SEC play has already begun. The Bulldogs are 22-5 overall and 2-1 against SEC foes.

In 2018 my then 14-year-old son and I decided to take in a Georgia softball game on our way back to Atlanta after watching a Georgia Baseball game. It was an afterthought, but an excellent afterthought.

We did not realize Athens was hosting a Regional Playoff Series, and as we approached the pristine Jack Turner Stadium complex for the first time, we became aware real quick that Georgia softball is a big deal.

First, the Northwestern Wildcats were seated in the bleachers next to us. My son ogled them while I struck up a conversation about my days in Chicago and being at Northwestern when Iowa and Nebraska would come to Evanston and slaughter the Northwestern football team without mercy.

More from Dawn of the Dawg

• Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
• Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
• Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
• Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
• Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina

My son and I thought the Lady Wildcats had been eliminated, yet we later discovered they were waiting to play the Bulldogs in the final game, which we could not stick around to see. The Bulldogs won that game and advanced to the Super Regionals, thank you very much.

I believe Georgia played Tennessee in the game we watched. What my son and I remember most is we could barely see pitches with balls roughly the size of grapefruit. It certainly opened our eyes to the athleticism of the sport.

That is, when my son’s eyes weren’t already wide open ogling Georgia’s future opponents sitting only feet away. Again, we thought the Wildcats were waiting to play a consolation game. It is never too late to scold one’s child for having ogled a team preparing to play the Bulldogs years ago.

Beginning in 2002, Georgia softball teams have made 18-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Whoa, Nellie. Thank you Keith Jackson. They played in the Women’s College World Series in 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2018. That is some serious dominance for a program founded in 1997.

In 2020 the Lady Bulldogs are 22-5 overall and 19-1 at home. Did we mention dominance? SEC play has just begun and continues through April.