Georgia drops first SEC series, goes 1-3 on the week

It wasn’t the best of weeks for Georgia Baseball as the Bulldogs went swept at Kentucky and won just one of their four games overall. UGA comes out of the action at 17-4 on the season, but the 0-3 start to league play certainly isn’t how the new regime would’ve liked to get going.

Midweek – Iowa (10-5 W)

Before the disappointment of the weekend, Georgia was able to extend its win streak to nine games with a 10-5 victory over Iowa. Hitting four home runs including an opening inning solo shot from Charlie Condon, his 13th of the season, the Bulldogs jumped on Iowa early. The Hawkeyes tied it with their own long ball in the second, but two more from Lukas Farris and Henry Hunter, plus a score on a wild pitch and another on a ground out, made it 5-1 at the end of two.

Hunter wasn’t done, as he hit another one in the eighth. That came at just the right time after Iowa got as close as 7-5 before the stretch with the two-run shot from the UAB transfer closed the door on any potential comeback.

Georgia used a platoon of pitchers with eight different Bulldogs toeing the rubber at one point or another. Christian Mracna picked up his second win of the season as the staff struck out seven and walked just four of the 36 batters faced.

“We had contributions from a lot of guys,” Georgia head coach Wes Johnson said after the game. “I haven’t counted it, but we had maybe 22 or 23 players that played tonight. I have been telling people that Lukas (Farris) is coming. He hit the ball over the batter’s eye tonight. Henry (Hunter) you could say is the hardest worker we got. He is taking a million swings off the machines. For him to come in and have success tonight, it doesn’t surprise me. Obviously, Superman (Charlie Condon) gets the ball in the first. If he doesn’t homer, it’s news. Also, we had some big walks up and down the lineup too.”

Weekend – Kentucky (Wildcats sweep the series)

Things turned for the worse over the weekend with Kentucky taking the series, Georgia’s first of SEC play. A high-scoring 16-10 affair on Friday saw Corey Collins hit two home runs while Condon and Dylan Goldstein both brought home a pair of RBI. Colins was however the only Bulldog with multiple hits in the game, not providing enough support for a pitching staff that walked seven batters, allowed 14 hits and gave up three home runs themselves. Five wild pitches also didn’t help the cause.

Turning the page to Saturday, the Georgia bats just couldn’t stay hot, with just three hits combined. UGA was able to turn that into three runs, all of which came in the seventh inning thanks to a bases loaded walk by Condon and a two-out, two-RBI single to right field for Slate Alford. However, Kentucky crossed home nine times, all of which were earned, once again managing to square up the Bulldog pitchers for double-digit hits (14) and multiple home runs (2).

Georgia wrapped up with a 12-2 run-rule loss on Sunday in seven innings. An early two-run home run from Henry Hunter was all that the Dawgs could muster up on the scoreboard, allowing Kentucky to take its first lead in the bottom half of the frame with five runs before the Wildcats ran away with things.

“We got to learn how to win on the road in this league because it’s really tough,” a frustrated Johnson said after Saturday’s game, a theme that was true for the weekend as a whole. “We’re not making pitches at the right time. We’re not catching the ball at the right time or getting the hits when we need them. We didn’t strike out a bunch today, but we have to have better at bats too.”

“We got to get better. We have to be able to stop it,” he added on Sunday, speaking about when things seem to start snowballing against them. “We have to get better in the batter’s box, on the pitcher’s mound, and believe we can get out of a situation when things don’t go our way. The ball is not going to bounce your way every day, and it didn’t this weekend. We’re going to learn from it. We’re going to practice tomorrow and get better.”

What’s Next

Georgia hosts a hot Wofford team on Tuesday with the Terriers almost always giving the Bulldogs a tough test. Prior to a Friday night loss, Wofford had won six straight games and nine of its last 10. It’s the first of five straight home games for UGA with Alabama coming to town over the weekend and another Tuesday home date the following week against Mercer.

First pitch against Wofford. is set for 5:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.