Georgia Baseball Takes two of Three from Powerhouse South Carolina
For the second consecutive season, the Georgia baseball squad won a series from powerhouse South Carolina.
More from Georgia Baseball
- Georgia baseball eliminated from NCAA Tournament in heartbreaking loss
- Georgia baseball sees a swift exit from SEC Tournament
- Georgia baseball finds itself with a perfect record
- Georgia baseball: Jonathan Cannon is a top MLB Draft prospect
- Georgia baseball becomes latest team to beat up on Alabama
News Flash Dawg Nation: the demise of the Georgia baseball team was prematurely reported. After Missouri swept the Dawgs in Athens, Georgia rose from the deck to sweep Tennessee. Then this past weekend the Dawgs take of two of three games from South Carolina on the road.
Saturday in Columbia, Georgia clinched its second straight SEC road series, defeating seventh-ranked South Carolina 6-5 in 11 innings and then 4-3 at Carolina Stadium. The Bulldogs used timely hitting from the top of the order and error-less defense to bully the eighth ranked Gamecocks for one-run wins in games one and two. South Carolina salvaged the series finale Sunday with an 8-5 win.
The Bulldogs last took a series win from the powerhouse Carolina program in Columbia in 1994. But it is the second consecutive year the Dawgs have taken a series from the Gamecocks.
Georgia is now 18-11 overall, 5-4 in the SEC. USC is 19-9, 5-4 in the SEC. This is the Bulldogs first SEC road series win over a top 10 team since 2006 when they won two of three over third-ranked Mississippi State.
More from Dawn of the Dawg
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
Friday’s game one was tied 5-5 in the top of the ninth when rain halted play. After resuming Saturday, Bulldog sophomore Mike Bell provided the go-ahead RBI-single in the top of the 11th. Freshman Keegan McGovern led off with a base hit, took second on a sacrifice bunt by Trevor Kieboom. Bell stepped up and delivered the RBI single off Jack Wynkoop. Senior Jared Cheek, finished the contest and earned the victory.
The Gamecocks elected to use Jack Wynkoop to complete the suspended game. Georgia then pounced on starter Reed Scott for a 2-0 first inning lead in game two. Georgia continued to press the advantage and extended its lead to 4-0 in the second inning.
“We found a way to win the first two in the series, and it was a great day for the Georgia Bulldogs,” Georgia coach Scott Stricklin told Georgiadogs.com. “We had 15 walks in the first game; I’ve never seen that and we still won. Overall, it was a gutty performance by everybody, and we scratched a few runs across all day. As a coach, you hope for a bigger cushion, but the guys came through in both games. I thought it was important to get an early lead in the second game and that took the crowd out of it.”
For the second consecutive Sunday this season, Georgia sophomore Stephen Wrenn led off the game with a home run. Senior Jared Walsh added a run-scoring single to make it 2-0. However, the Bulldogs left the bases loaded and opened the door for a comeback win by the Gamecocks in the third game of the weekend.
“I told the guys that overall it was a good weekend as we won the first two games and brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth today,” said Strickland to Georgiadogs.com. “After our first SEC weekend, when you look at the big picture to be 5-4 at this point in the SEC, I’ll take that. There were a lot of positives this weekend but also a few things we need to improve on like our strikeouts and number of batters we walked. Still, our kids battled hard and we won two straight SEC road series. Now, it’s time to get ready for another tough week with Tech and Vanderbilt coming to Foley Field.”