The Georgia softball team will travel to Columbus, Ga., this weekend to take part in the sixth-annual NFCA Leadoff Classic.

The 14th-ranked Bulldogs (12-1) head to Columbus following consecutive tournament victories in Athens over the past two weekends.

“Our hard work is starting to pay off,” said head coach Lu Harris-Champer. “And we’ve just focused on getting each person better.”

One player who hasn’t had any trouble getting better is senior pitcher Christie Hamilton.

So far this season Hamilton is 5-0 with a 0.43 ERA, a .147 opponent’s batting average and has 35 strikeouts in 32.2 innings.

“This whole year I’ve been working on mixing my pitches and staying consistent,” Hamilton said.

This weekend, the Bulldogs will count on continued consistency from Hamilton as well as reigning SEC Player of the Week sophomore third baseman Alisa Goler.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to face five teams this weekend, three of which are ranked in the NFCA Top 25 – DePaul (13th), Massachusetts (17th) and Ohio St. (20th).

Georgia will kick off the tournament on Friday evening when it takes on DePaul and Massachusetts in a doubleheader, followed by another doubleheader on Saturday afternoon against Hofstra and Penn State before finishing up Sunday morning against Ohio State.

“This is going to be a good test to get ready for the SEC,” Harris-Champer said. “It’s going to be fun to get out here and compete.”