The Georgia softball team has been an offensive juggernaut for much of this season.
Through Sunday, the Bulldogs led the Southeastern Conference in eight offensive categories, including batting average (.309), slugging percentage (.398) and stolen bases (106).
But on a day when the Bulldogs struggled to find their stroke at the plate and stole only five bases, they showed two other reasons why they have earned their first national ranking.
Junior right-hander Lacey Gardner earned a pair of victories Tuesday as No. 21 Georgia played errorless ball in 3-0 wins over Princeton and Nicholls State in the first day of the Georgia mini-tournament at the Women's Athletic Complex.
Gardner (13-2) pitched a complete-game one-hitter against Princeton (5-7) and then hurled 21Z3 innings of hitless relief as the Bulldogs (32-3) rallied against Nicholls State.
"That's how softball is," Georgia coach Lu Harris-Champer said. "You've got your offense, your defense and your pitchers and catchers. You have to get at least two out of the three to win a ball game, and we got defense and pitching today."
Gardner allowed only a fourth-inning single to Kristin Del Calvo. She walked one, struck out none and recorded 15 ground-balls outs.
"Our defense is what wins our ball games for us," said Gardner, whose Bulldogs led the SEC with a .973 fielding percentage entering Tuesday's action. "I know if I throw strikes they're going to have my back and get all of the outs for me."
Third baseman Kristen Bell and second baseman Katie Lewis shared the defensive spotlight.
"Our pitchers work very hard, and a lot of them are drop-ball pitchers, so we know when they're pitching we're going to get a lot of ground balls," Bell said. "They have kept their composure, hit their spots and they have done everything that they can do."
First baseman Kim Wendland, who scooped three one-hoppers from Gardner at first, had a two-run single in the third, and right fielder Amy Brannan added her first home run of the season in the seventh to account for the offense.
Nicholls State's Nichole Wagner and Nichole Urban sailed through the first four innings in Game 2 before Nicholls State (7-18) put runners on first and second with two outs in the fifth.
But Gardner came on to retire leadoff hitter Sarah Eads on a grounder to Wendland, whose bloop RBI single in the sixth gave Georgia the only run it needed.
"Bats don't show up every day. That is just how it is," said Wendland, who leads Georgia with a .463 batting average. "Softball is a game of failure, and we accept that, but defense isn't. You win championships with defense and you win it with pitching."
The Bulldogs added some insurance in the seventh on center fielder Nicole Barber's two-run single.
But defense and pitching was the story on a day when Georgia mustered only 12 hits and were caught stealing three times. The Bulldogs had been caught stealing six times in their first 33 games.
"If you don't have good defense, you're not going to stand because you may only score one or two runs in a game," Bell said. "That type of defense helps you be able to play any team in the nation close."
The errorless game was Georgia's fifth straight. After committing nine errors in their first four games of the season, the Bulldogs have made only 16 errors in their last 31 games.
"(Our defense) has become more consistent with every game. (Michelle) Tyree goes in the hole so well (at shortstop) and comes up with a strong throw, Lewie is all over the ball (at second base) and has incredible range, and having two stud third baseman (Bell and Shannon McKeon) is a big help," Wendland said. "To read each other and play like we do as a unit is what wins us games sometimes."
The Georgia Mini-tournament concludes today with Nicholls State vs. Princeton at noon, Georgia vs. Princeton at 2 p.m. and Georgia vs. Nicholls State at 4 p.m.
