No. 12 Georgia Opens Southeastern Conference Play at No. 9 Arkansas

Last Updated: March 5, 2026By


FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs are set to open Southeastern conference play this weekend at No. 9 Arkansas. Georgia enters the weekend at 18-5 while the hosts own a 19-1 record.
 
No. 12/15 Georgia

at No. 9/7 Arkansas

Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Venue: Bogle Park
Date: Mar. 6-8, 2026
First Pitch: 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, 6:00 p.m. ET on Saturday and 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday
 
Media Information
Streaming: SEC Network+
Live Updates: GeorgiaDogs.com 
X Updates: @UGASoftball
 
Leading Off
No. 12/15 Georgia enters Opening Weekend of SEC play after a 9-1 (5 inn.) win over Georgia State midweek. RHP Presley Harrison and LHP Ada Little combined in the circle to stifle the Panther offense, and senior Jaydyn Goodwin’s 3-3 performance with a home run and three RBIs helped power the Bulldogs to the run-rule victory.
 
Georgia and Arkansas will meet in Fayetteville for the first time since the 2023 season when the Bulldogs took the series with wins in the first two games of the weekend. 
 
Series History
Arkansas
– Georgia is 41-26 all-time against Arkansas
– In the last meeting, the Razorbacks won 5-1 in Athens in the 2025 SEC Tournament
– Under Baldwin, Georgia is 3-4 against Arkansas
– In Fayetteville, the Bulldogs are 17-11 against the Razorbacks
 
Georgia in the Polls
Georgia in the Polls: Week Three
     – NFCA/GoRout: 15
     – ESPN/USA Softball: 12
     – D1Softball: 15
     – Softball America: 12
 
Opponent Outlook
Arkansas enters the weekend sitting at 19-1 on the season. Last weekend, in the ‘Woo Pig Classic,’ the Razorbacks went 6-0 with two wins each over Charlotte and Omaha, as well as a win each over Boise State and Kansas. 
 
Robyn Herron and Payton Burnham have led Arkansas in the circle this season. Herron, currently 8-1 on the year, has a 1.31 ERA with 71 strikeouts to eight walks while Burnham owns a 1.64 ERA with a 4-1 record to go with 19 strikeouts and three walks. Also in the circle, Saylor Timmerman and Cam Harrison own 3-0 record with 2.07 and 2.10 ERAs, respectively.
 
Offensively, Brinli Bain had led the Razorback offense, batting at a .532-clip with 25 hits, 18 runs, a home run and 17 RBIs. She also boasts a team-best .639 on-base percentage. Karlie Davison paces Arkansas with a team-best 23 RBIs, and Dakota Kennedy leads the Razorbacks with seven home runs on the season. As a team, Arkansas is batting .408 through the opening 20 games with 204 hits off 209 runs. 
 
Head coach Courtney Deifel, in her 11th season, is currently enjoying her joint-best 20-game start to a season – matching 19-1 starts to the campaigns in 2017 and 2025.
 
Conference Stat Leaders
Sarah Gordon
The senior from Louisville, Ky. is among the top ten in the conference in a number of statistical categories:
 
Batting Average: Third – .541
Slugging Percentage: Fourth – 1.098
On-Base Percentage: Sixth – .603
Runs Scored: Tied Eighth – 27
Hits: Ninth – 33
Doubles: Tied First – 11
 
Kierstin Roose:
The graduate from Wolcottville, Ind. ranks in the top ten in the conference in three categories:
 
Home Runs: Tied Seventh – 9
Fielding Double Plays: Tied Sixth – 7
Assists: Tenth – 38
 
Bailey Lindemuth:
The sophomore from Burleson, Texas is tied for fifth in the conference in assists (fielding) at 40.
 
Randi Roelling:
The junior from Modesto, Calif. ranks in the top ten in the conference in three categories:
 
Innings Pitched: Fourth – 50.1
Strikeouts: Eighth – 56
Wins: Tied Ninth – 7
 
NCAA Stat Leaders (Last Updated 3/4/26)
Randi Roelling:
Wins: Tied 23rd – 7
 
Kierstin Roose:
Home Runs: Tied 13th – 9
 
Sarah Gordon:
Batting Average: Seventh – .559
Hits: Tied 15th – 33
Doubles: Tied First – 11
 
Midweek Breakdown
On Wednesday night, the Bulldogs defeated Georgia State in five innings, 9-1. RHP Presley Harrison made the start in the circle going the opening 1.1 innings with a strikeout and three hits allowed. LHP Ada Little entered the circle in the top of the second inning to finish the game with four strikeouts and one hit allowed in 3.2 innings pitched. Senior Jaydyn Goodwin was a perfect 3-3 at the plate in the win including a three-run blast in the fourth inning to put Georgia up 5-1. Junior Delani Sullivan spread a bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the fifth inning to seal the win.
 
Bulldog Classic Recap
Georgia was a perfect 4-0 across the weekend in the 17th Annual Bulldog Classic with two wins each over South Alabama and UNC-Wilmington. In Friday night’s game against the Jaguars, LHP Randi Roelling made her ninth start of the season. After walking the first batter, Roelling shut down the South Alabama offense there after en route to a seven strikeout, complete game no-hitter – the first of her career. In the win, Sarah Gordon, Emma Castorri and Tyler Ellison all homered. Ellison’s home run in the bottom of the fifth inning was a walk-off, run-rule score to seal the win, 8-0 (5 inn.).
 
On Saturday, freshman LHP Presley Harrison made her return to the circle – her first appearance since the opening game of the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational. Harrison went 4.0 innings with one hit and three strikeouts to move to 2-0 on the season. Two early home runs by Gordon and Emily Digby saw Georgia race out to a 3-0 lead and hold on for the 9-0 (5 inn.) victory. Later that afternoon, Baldwin’s side and UNC-Wilmington met for the first time during the weekend. Senior RHP Destin Howard made the start and earned her first win of the season in a 4.0 inning, one hit, one earned run and three strikeout performance. Senior C Marisa Miller blasted the Bulldogs’ third grand slam of the season and the first of her career in the bottom of the first inning. Georgia piled on five runs in the bottom of the first frame, and Gordon also homered in the 9-1 (5 inn.) win.
 
The Bulldogs closed out Bulldog Classic action on Sunday afternoon with another contest against the Seahawks. RHP Maddie Johnson also returned to action making her second start of the season and going 2.0 innings with just one hit and one earned run. Roelling returned to the circle to close the final 3.0 innings with three hits and five strikeouts to earn her team-best seventh win of the season. Graduate INF Keirstin Roose had two home runs in the game, and Gordon launched her fourth home run of the weekend – one in each game – to seal a 9-1 (5 inn.) win.
 
Georgia Classic Recap
The Bulldogs opened the 23rd Annual Georgia Classic against Seton Hall last Friday night with a 9-1 (5 inn.) victory. The Bulldogs took a swift 3-0 lead after two innings off an Emily Digby RBI single and Bailey Lindemuth two-RBI triple. The Pirates added one in the third before Georgia cruised to the run-rule win in five. Later Friday evening, Georgia defeated Utah State, 4-1, paced by freshman LHP Ada Little’s first career win and three-run second inning.
 
On Saturday, the Bulldogs opened the rain-delayed afternoon with an afternoon loss to No. 20 Virginia Tech, 9-3 before turning around and beating Utah State, 11-2 (5 inn.) on Saturday evening. 
 
Georgia closed the weekend dropping the Georgia Classic finale to the Hokies, 9-3. 
 
National Recognition
A trio of Bulldogs have earned preseason recognition from both Softball America and D1Softball. In the Softball America preseason Top 100 Player Rankings, Sarah Gordon checked in at No. 78 and transfer pitcher Addisen Fisher spotted in at No. 93. More, Jaydyn Goodwin, Gordon and Fisher were tabbed as the No. 12 outfielder, the No. 8 UTL player and the No. 23 pitcher, respectively, by the outlet. 
 
D1Softball had three Georgia players in it’s D100 preseason Player Rankings with Goodwin at No. 52, Gordon at No. 67 and Fisher at No. 74. Positionally, by D1Softball, Goodwin was pinned as the No. 20 outfielder, Gordon as the No. 14 outfielder and Fisher as the No. 25 pitcher. 
 
Eyes on the Freshman
Four Bulldog freshmen earned spots on Softball America and D1Softball’s preseason Freshman Watch Lists. Pitchers Presley Harrison and Ada Little along with infielder Brooke Smith were all selected to the Softball America Freshman Watch List. More, Harrison and Little joined infielder Gabi Novickas on D1Softball’s SEC Freshman Watch List.
 
New Faces, New Places
12 new players will don the red and black this season with six transfer athletes and six freshmen.
 
Out of the portal, Baldwin and his staff welcome sophomore pitchers Addisen Fisher and Maddie Johnson. Fisher, a UCLA transfer, was tabbed to the Big-10 All-Freshman Team last season, as well as the D1Softball Freshman All-American First Team. Johnson, an Athens native, arrives from Georgia Southern after being named to the All-Sun Belt Conference First Team and to the D1Softball Freshman All-American Second Team. Outfielders Natalie Ray and Delani Sullivan join infielders Bailey Lindemuth and Keirsten Roose to round out the portal class. Ray is a North Georgia transfer who started her career at Ole Miss while Sullivan arrives from SEC opponent Kentucky. Lindemuth comes to Athens after reaching the Womens’ College World Series with Texas Tech last season, and graduate transfer Roose joins the Bulldogs after four strong seasons with Coastal Carolina.
 
Two of Georgia’s six freshman signees will join the pitching staff in lefty Ada Little from Georgetown, Ky and the right-handed Presley Harrison from Baxley, Ga. Infielders Gabi Novickas, Brooke Smith and Katelin Smith hail from Chicago, Ill., Brandon, Miss. and Glennville, Ga. Outfielder Natalie Donaldson, a native of DeWitt, Mich. rounds out the six-person freshman class and the 12 newcomers.
 
Clearwater Recap
After suffering a loss in the opener in Clearwater to No. 23 Oklahoma State, the Bulldogs rallied for five successive wins including two ranked wins to close out play in Florida.
 
On Thursday, down 6-0 going into the sixth inning, the Bulldogs scored three in the bottom of the frame before adding another two runs in the bottom of the seventh against Oklahoma State. Later that afternoon after falling to Oklahoma State, 6-5, Georgia rebounded with a 6-5 win over No. 8 Nebraska.
 
On Saturday, the Bulldog bats came alive in successive five inning, rule-rule victories over NC State and UCF. Georgia took down the Wolfpack, 16-2 (5 inn.), and UCF, 13-5 (5 inn.).
 
To end play in Clearwater, Georgia won both games against Northwestern and No. 22 Duke. With the score level after three innings against Northwestern, the Bulldogs punched a seven-spot in the top of the fourth inning en route to an 8-3 win. Later, against Duke, Georgia hit three straight home runs in the top of the first inning – the first time since Feb. 9, 2024 against Murray State – to run out 9-1 (5 inn.) victors.
 
Over the course of the weekend, Georgia tallied 57 runs in six games. More pointedly, in the fourth inning alone across all six games, the Bulldogs tallied 26 runs. 
 
What’s Up Next?
Baldwin’s side will head to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks this weekend as the Southeastern conference season gets underway. A complete schedule of all SEC Opening Weekend Matchups are compiled below:
 
Texas at South Carolina, Fri. Mar. 6 – Sun. Mar. 8
 
LSU at Tennessee, Fri. Mar. 6 – Sun. Mar. 8
 
Georgia at Arkansas, Fri. Mar. 6 – Sun. Mar. 8
 
Alabama at Ole Miss, Fri. Mar. 6 – Sun. Mar. 8
 
Kentucky at Auburn, Fri. Mar. 6 – Sun. Mar. 8
 
Missouri at Florida, Sat. Mar. 7 – Mon. Mar. 9
 
Gordon Tabbed National Player of the Week
Senior Sarah Gordon was tabbed the National Player of the Week by D1Softball, Softball America and Softball on SI following play in Clearwater, Florida. During the week, Gordon went 12-18 with nine runs, 10 RBIs, six doubles, one triple, three home runs and two walks while only striking out once. She also slugged 1.444 while boasting a 0.700 OBP with a perfect fielding percentage and a team-high 17 put-outs.
 
Clearwater Team of the Tournament
Sarah Gordon and Kierstin Roose were named to the 2026 Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational Team of the Tournament following their performances in Florida.
 
Georgia was one of four schools with two or more players named to the team. 
 
2025 Season Recap
– Georgia finished the 2025 season at 35-23 after reaching the Gainesville Super Regional, falling one win short of a sixth trip back to Oklahoma City.
– The Bulldogs tallied a 7-16 mark in conference play, finishing 12th overall in the Southeastern Conference.
– In the SEC Tournament, hosted in Athens, Georgia reached the second round of play before falling to No. 5-seed Arkansas.
– Senior Dallis Goodnight was named Second Team All-SEC after hitting at a .345 clip for 45 runs off 61 hits with four doubles, four triples, two home runs and 11 RBIs.
– Four Bulldogs earned NFCA All-South Region honors. Goodnight and Jaydyn Goodwin landed on the Second Team, and Sarah Gordon and Marisa Miller were named to the Third Team.
– Rising senior Destin Howard was named to the 2025 SEC Softball Community Service Team for her actions within and commitment to her home and Athens communities.
– 53,867 fans packed into The Jack over the course of the 2025 season – a new season record. More, during the series against No. 3 LSU, a program-best 7,098 fans were in attendance.
 

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