Georgia sweeps Georgia Tech with exciting comeback to end eventful weekend
Georgia Baseball took its series over Georgia Tech on Sunday, clinching it with an exciting 11-9 victory over the Yellow Jackets at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville. After trailing the entirety of the contest including as large of a deficit as 9-3, the Bulldogs claimed their first lead late with a pair of two-out scores in the ninth inning.
Big in sparking the comeback were Kolby Branch, Charlie Condon and Fernando Gonzalez. Branch got Georgia on the board in the fifth inning with a two-run home run before Condon hit his eighth of the season, a solo shot in the sixth. Then, it was a combo of the two that scored the first of five runs in the seventh as Condon singled to bring Branch across the plate. Shortly after, Clayton Chadwick cleared the bases with a three-run double followed by a Sebastian Murillo single that brought Chadwick home himself. That had the Bulldogs down just one at the seventh-inning stretch.
Several of those same names played a part late as well. After Corey Collins reached base with a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth, Murillo flew to center field to score Collins’ pinch runner, Trey King. That tied that game at 9. Then, the other Bulldog to reach on a walk that inning, Josh Stinson, came all the way around from first on a double down the left field line by Gonzalez to give Georgia its first lead. A single by Branch added to the lead and sent UGA into the field needing just three outs. After some strong pitching performances from the likes of Luke Wiltrakis and Josh Roberge, Brian Zeldin came on for his third save as he struck out two of the four he faced in the bottom of the ninth.
Earlier in the Series…
Georgia also won the Saturday meeting of the two teams thanks to the bat of Gonzalez. A solo home run in the seventh inning, tied 1-1, gave the Bulldogs the lead in what was a pitcher’s duel. Then, in the eighth, a Tre Phelps double brought home Condon to add some insurance on to the one-run lead. Roberge and Zeldin were big once again out of the bullpen, earning their first win and second save of the season respectively. Kolten Smith‘s 4.1 innings of scoreless work also played a par in sending Georgia home victorious.
Of course, the two wins come on the heels of a Friday night rainout mid-game. Georgia led 9-3 in the bottom of the fifth when play was suspended due to rain. If an agreed upon date can be found to finish the game in Atlanta later this season, the halted contest can be completed, but with little-to-no incentive to do so on the Tech end of things, able to wipe the game entirely as opposed to restarting down six, a resumption is not expected. Stats will not count from the incomplete game, but prior to the stoppage, Dillon Carter blasted his fifth home run to make it 4-1 in the second inning followed by RBIs from Slate Alford and Logan Jordan in the fourth to push the advantage to 9-3.
Georgia moves to 10-1 on the season with the results against Tech ahead of a mid-week slate that features another in-state rival, Georgia Southern, along with Stetson. First pitch on Tuesday against the Eagles is set for 6:35 p.m. ET at SRP Park in North Augusta with no streaming option available to watch (audio-only available here) before the Bulldogs return to Foley Field on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network+. Then, Northern Colorado comes to Athens on the weekend for a four-game set Friday (5:00 p.m. ET), Saturday (1:00 p.m. ET and 5:00 p.m. ET) and Sunday (1:00 p.m. ET).
