Shorter College had a decent afternoon offensively, but didn’t perform so well in the other phases of the game.

Shorter surrendered 10 runs in the opener and lost a three-run lead in the bottom of the seventh in the nightcap as host Talladega College earned a non-conference sweep of the Hawks, 10-6 and 10-9, on Tuesday.

Shorter, which has now dropped six straight games, stands at 22-28 overall heading into its final series of the regular season, a Southern States Athletic Conference three-game set at Faulkner University beginning on Friday.

The Hawks had won nine of 11 contests prior to their current losing skid.

Shorter, which owns a 7-11 mark in SSAC play, is firmly entrenched into the No. 6 seed heading into the eight-team, double elimination SSAC Tournament held April 29 through May 2 at the Golden Park Complex in Columbus.

The Hawks, however, have a chance to play the role of spoiler against the Eagles this weekend.

Faulkner (36-16, 12-6 SSAC), ranked No. 18 in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll, currently sits one game behind first place and 6th-ranked Lee University for the top seed in the SSAC.

If Shorter is able to steal several games in Montgomery this weekend, it would hurt the Eagles’ chances of earning the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament.

Shorter and Faulkner open their three-game series on Friday with a 2 p.m. ET start. The teams will close out the set with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

UGA, Tech set for

softball clash of titans

The No. 10-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs will host to the sixth-ranked Georgia Tech Lady Yellow Jackets today at the UGA Softball Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Georgia (36-8) and Georgia Tech (41-6) will be meeting for the second time this season.

In the first meeting in Atlanta on April 7, sophomore Ashley Razey hit a three-run home run in the top of the seventh to lift the Lady Bulldogs to a 5-4 win in front of a record-setting Mewborn Field crowd of 1,500.

Freshman pitcher Alison Owen notched the win after allowing one run over two innings in relief.

UGA enters today’s game riding an 11-game winning streak, and the Lady Jackets will bring a nine-game winning streak to Athens.

Today’s meeting will mark the first time since 2004 that the two teams have played in both Atlanta and Athens in the same season. (The series has previously alternated locations each season).

All-time in the series, the Lady Bulldogs lead 17-9, and with the win earlier this season the last 10 meetings are now split evenly at 5-5.

Live stats and live video will be available today at www.georgiadogs.com.

Admission is free to all regular season home games at the UGA Softball Stadium.

Lady Bulldogs encourage youth To “Get off the Bench”

ATHENS — Members of the Georgia Lady Bulldogs will take part in one of the first events associated with the “Get off the Bench” initiative today.

The team and Josh Rucci, its strength and conditioning coordinator, will visit the Joel E. Smilow Boys & Girls Club on Fourth Street in Athens at approximately 3:30 p.m. as part of the new program sponsored by the UGA Athletic Association and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia to promote fitness with youth.

“Get off the bench and get active is a great mindset for our youth to adopt,” Rucci said. “Childhood obesity and inactivity is an epidemic that we must take seriously. Being able to get out here and help these kids get active and have fun doing it is an amazing opportunity, one that we should all embrace.”

“Get off the Bench” is designed to promote movement activities and encourage physical fitness. The Athletic Association and Blue Cross Blue Shield will donate equipment such as jump ropes, medicine balls and agility ladders to organizations. UGA student-athletes and strength staff will deliver the equipment and also demonstrate proper techniques with its usage. The initiative also will include the donation of benches, a much-needed item associated with exercise.

“We’re excited about this program on many levels,” said Robert Miles, Director of the CHAMPS/Life Skills for the UGA Athletic Association. “We’re pleased to be able to partner with Blue Cross Blue Shield not only to provide the equipment necessary for youth to ‘Get off the Bench’ but also to have the chance to show them how to properly maximize their efforts.”