COLUMBIA, S.C. -- It may be impossible to pinpoint when the Georgia softball team arrived on the national scene this season.
It may have been in February when the Bulldogs defeated nationally ranked Florida State en route to winning their first 24 games.
Georgia may have turned a few heads when it blanked nationally ranked Alabama 3-0 on March 9 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Bulldogs certainly had attracted the attention of LSU coach Yvette Girouard by the time they visited Baton Rouge, La., for a three-game series on March 30-31. Girouard was so impressed that she started All-America pitcher Britni Sneed all three games against the Bulldogs in the Tigers' sweep.
Georgia's 4-2 showing in the Southeastern Conference tournament, which included a pair of one-run losses to Sneed and the Tigers, solidified the Bulldogs' status as an up-and-coming team and earned them their first NCAA tournament bid.
But softball "experts" unfamiliar with Georgia still wondered if the Bulldogs were for real -- until Saturday.
That's when No. 25 Georgia came within five outs of upsetting No. 1 and top-seeded UCLA in game eight of the NCAA Regional at Beckham Field.
Sound agonizing? It was. But what if left fielder Julie Milner could have pulled another "Web Gem" and made a diving catch on Natasha Watley's sinking liner in the top of the sixth?
And what if another gust of wind had held Tairia Mims' line drive in the air a little longer for center fielder Nicole Barber and prevented it from going over her head for a game-tying RBI double?
Those were the most agonizing moments of Georgia's 2-1 loss to UCLA. Mims' game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth inning smarted, but you had to tip your cap to the Bruins for rising to the challenge and beating the Bulldogs.
But when a team gets a taste of success it only wants more, and you can rest assured that this weekend was only the beginning for Coach Lu Harris-Champer and the Bulldogs.
"I think we did good," Harris-Champer said. "I think we took a big step. Once again, a season without regionals isn't worth having. I almost feel that way about the next level, but I think we have done a good job to this point, and we will be shooting for the World Series next season."
If you have any doubt, you only had to watch Milner lay out and make a diving catch on Amanda Freed's fly ball in foul territory near the left-field fence in the fourth inning.
Need more proof? Freshman Michelle Green, who no-hit South Carolina on Friday and was named to the regional's all-tournament team with Kim Wendland, showed the poise of a veteran when she struck out Freed looking on a change-up with the bases loaded in the fifth inning of a scoreless game.
Each of those examples proved Georgia had arrived. Granted, South Carolina eliminated Georgia 9-3 about three hours later, but a Georgia fan said after that game that people would remember the UCLA loss, not the loss to the Gamecocks.
And looking at what the Bulldogs have accomplished in two seasons under Harris-Champer and looking ahead to a future that appears to be limitless, you had to agree.
"I don't think there is anyone we can't beat now," Barber said. "Just being able to compete with (UCLA) like that, it is like, 'Oh my God, we can win the whole thing.' We always thought that before, but you still have doubts in your mind. When you do that, it boosts everyone's confidence going into next year."
Georgia finished 59-17 and set new standards for most wins in a season, most SEC wins in a season and so many other team and individual records that it probably will take Tyler Sabo, the team's sports information contact, a couple of weeks to figure it all out.
The Bulldogs lose only third baseman Kristen Bell and expect a talented cast of newcomers to join the squad next season.
Bell regrets she won't be a part of future Georgia softball titles, but she said this season was a valuable learning experience.
"I think (this season) will carry momentum over to next year," Bell said. "We have a big group of talented girls, and I expect them to do well for a very long time."
How well? Let's just say "Title Town" may have a new tenant.
"We are that close," Green said. "People will know who we are next year, instead of this year coming in as the underdog and people not knowing who we are."
