This article was originally published with The Red & Black on May 22, 2015 and can be found here.

Georgia pitcher Chelsea Wilkinson had several losses this season with one bad inning that let the game slip away. The situation was worse than ever in Friday’s matchup against No. 3 seed Michigan, as Wilkinson failed to get past one out in a disappointing 10-3 loss for the Bulldogs.

The trouble began due to a lack of control from Wilkinson. A walk to the second batter of the game was cashed in by Michigan left fielder Kelly Christner, who hit a home run to put the Wolverines ahead 2-0. Wilkinson walked a total of four batters in 0.1 innings of work, including consecutive Michigan players to load the bases and bring another Michigan run home in a 3-0 game.

 

Georgia head coach Lu Harris-Champer opted to relieve Wilkinson after the fourth walk, bringing in freshman Brittany Gray. Gray hit one batter to score another Wolverines run but escaped on a groundout, leaving the Bulldogs behind 4-0.

The Bulldogs (44-16, 14-9) drew closer to the Wolverines in the third inning with a sacrifice flyout by right fielder Sydni Emanuel that scored center fielder Niaja Griffin. Georgia left one runner on base in the inning, which quickly proved to be Georgia’s last real shot at making this a game.

Michigan (55-6, 21-2) noticed its slim three-run lead and opted to raise it to seven in the bottom of the third. Nine Wolverines came up for their at-bat in an inning that four runs and two errors from the normally-reliable Georgia defense. The Wolverines left the inning with a commanding 8-1 lead, causing Georgia to search for a way to come back.

The issue for the Bulldogs was there was little to be said about a comeback. Georgia added two runs in the fourth inning on a home run by third baseman Anna Swafford, but the Wolverines were still not done taking advantage of the Bulldogs’ pitching woes. An additional two runs crossed the plate in the fourth for the home team , which put the game out of reach.

Georgia’s goal was to show up in a noteworthy fashion to start the best-of-three series ,which determines who moves on to the next round of the NCAA Women’s College World Series. With a seven-run loss now on its resumes and consciences, Georgia must come back strong for the second game on Friday at 6:00 p.m. Otherwise, a season that once signaled Georgia was one of the most talented in the nation will end prematurely.