Georgia Baseball beats top-ranked Tennessee in series finale
Georgia Baseball beat top-ranked Tennessee in the finale of their series up in Knoxville 8-3. The Bulldogs dropped the first two contests, falling 5-2 on Thursday and 9-2 on Friday, but winning Saturday’s game certainly was big as the Volunteers have already cemented their top spot in the SEC Tournament and have only lost seven times on the season, including Saturday. Tony Vitello’s team will likely be the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament too.
“We challenged the team last night, challenged them again this morning, and we have a lot of upperclassmen on this team, and they took it personal,” Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin said. “The goal was to have a chip on our shoulder and really fight today. I thought we really did. Liam battled and got us through three and Jaden was put into a tough situation. He only gave up one run and that was a momentum builder for us. And then Jack Gowen comes in and that’s the best he’s been all year. We had a lot of big hits in this one, Chaney, Fernando and Cole and Connor Tate. It was a really good team win.”
Tennessee jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first two innings with a Drew Gilbert single up the middle to score Seth Stephenson and a solo-shot home run from Luc Lipcius. However, Georgia tied it up in the foth with a home run of its own, a two-run shot from Chaney Rogers to score himself and Connor Tate before taking the lead on the next batter with a second home run, this time from Fernando Gonzalez.
The Vols tied it up in the bottom half of the fourth with a bases loaded walk from Jaden Woods, who entered in relief for Liam Sullivan after Sullivan started off the fourth by allowing two straight hits. The run was credited against Sullivan, and Woods eventually got out of the jam with three strikeouts in the inning.
The score remained tied through the fifth and sixth innings, but the Bulldogs struck big in the seventh with five runs. After Gonzalez grounded out, Corey Collins, Josh McAllister and Buddy Floyd all singled to load the bases. A Ben Anderson sacrifice bunt scored Collins before Cole Tate singled to clear the bases with McAllister and Floyd crossing home. Then, to cap things off, Cole’s brother Connor Tate homered to left field to make it 8-3.
Jack Gowen provided 3.2 innings of relief following Woods’ 2.1. While Woods walked four, Gowen sat down 11 batters in order including five strikeouts. Neither pitcher allowed a hit or a run. As a result, Gowen picked up the win to go along with his 10 saves on the season.
Georgia will host Presbyterian at Foley Field for its final midweek contest of the season on Tuesday before the Missouri Tigers come to town for the final series Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The SEC Tournament gets underway in Hoover, Ala. on Tuesday, May 24, and the NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed the following Monday.
Want the best Georgia content?
Ready to get all your latest Georgia recruiting and team news in one place? Become a member of DawgsHQ today. With your DawgsHQ membership, you’ll not only have access to the goings on in Athens, but you’ll be able to peruse other fan sites within the On3 network to hear just how rivals are feeling about the Dawgs, as well. Make sure to follow along on Twitter (@DawgsHQ), on Facebook and on YouTube for all the Dawg news you need now! And listen to the DawgsHQ crew on our podcast Dawg Walk Talk on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
