Georgia Baseball: Bulldogs Split Doubleheader with Commodores
By Danny Bishop
Patrick Boling, Photo by Sonny Kennedy, http://www.sonnykennedyphotography.com/
Georgia took game one of a doubleheader from No. 2 Vanderbilt 3-1, but the Commodores came back to claim a 15-4 victory in the second game Saturday at Foley Field.
Blake Dieterich earned the win in relief for Georgia in the first game, allowing no runs and giving up just two hits in 2.1 innings of work . Starter Kevin Ziomek took the loss for Vanderbilt after giving up three runs in eight innings. Jarrett Brown came on in the ninth to earn his first career save.
Patrick Boling took the loss in the second game for the Bulldogs (15-25, 4-13 SEC), while Tyler Beede earned the win for the Commodores (34-6, 15-2 SEC) after giving up four runs and striking out seven through seven innings.
Georgia’s Kyle Farmer went a combined 3-5 in the two games, including a pair of home runs to go along with four RBIs and four runs scored. Vanderbilt launched five home runs in the second game, including a pair by Zander Wiel in his first career start.
Georgia struck first in game one, getting one run in the bottom of the first off an RBI single to right from Jared Walsh that plated Kyle Farmer for the early 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs added one more run in the third as Farmer drew a two-out walk and came home to score when Cole doubled deep to center field.
Vanderbilt was able to get one unearned run in the fourth after two errors and a wild pitch by the Bulldogs put a runner on second with just one out. One batter later, Dieterich entered the game in relief, giving up a walk and a base hit that scored Spencer Navin from second.
Georgia tacked on an insurance run in the eighth as Brett DeLoach sent an RBI single to left to plate Justin Bryan from third base. Bryan reached base to start the inning after getting hit by a pitch and moved to second after Powell reached on an error. Farmer laid down a sac bunt to advance both runners, and following an intentional walk and a strikeout, DeLoach stepped to the plate and delivered with the RBI single.
Brown then retired all three batters he faced in the ninth, including a pair of strikeouts, to earn the save and preserve the 3-1 win for the Bulldogs. It gave them a three-game winning streak, the latest coming against the league’s top offensive club.
However, the Commodore offense exploded for five runs in the first inning of game two, including a trio of home runs from Navin, Wiel and Vince Conde. Vanderbilt tacked on one more run in the second off an RBI double to left by Wiel that scored Connor Harrell from second.
Boling retired six straight batters through the third and fourth innings, but Vanderbilt broke through for a run in the fifth as Wiel homered to left for the second time of the game to extend the Vanderbilt lead to 7-0. An RBI single by Turner in the sixth added to the Commodores’ total, but Georgia would get that run back in the bottom of the frame as Farmer led off with a home run to left to make it an 8-1 ballgame.
The home run fest for both teams continued in the seventh, as Mike Yastrzemski launched a two-run homer to right in the top of the frame before Farmer sent his second home run of the game, this time a three-run shot, to left to trim Vanderbilt’s lead to 10-4.
After a scoreless eighth inning by both teams, Vanderbilt added five more runs in the top of the ninth to seal the 15-4 win.
JT Phillips, Photo by Sonny Kennedy, http://www.sonnykennedyphotography.com/
“It was a great start to the doubleheader as we pitched well, played good defense and Kyle Farmer had a big day but unfortunately we didn’t follow it up in the second game,” said Georgia coach David Perno. “In the first game, Hunter Cole and Justin Bryan made some key plays in the outfield, we got a double play when they had runners at the corners and nobody out and Jarrett was calm and cool there in the ninth. In the second game, we spotted then five in the first and that’s tough to come back from against their pitcher who was 9-0. Still, Kyle hit two home runs off him. Our guys battled all day.”
In related baseball news, Perno announced that freshman first baseman J.T. Phillips has been dismissed from the team due to violations of team rules.
Georgia and Vanderbilt will conclude their weekend series Sunday at Foley Field with first pitch set for 2 p.m.
All photos copyrighted property of Sonny Kennedy, sonnykennedyphotography.com/