After winning three straight contests for the first time since sweeping the UAB Blazers early in March, the Georgia Bulldogs attempted to use that momentum in order to win the team’s first SEC series of the season. The No. 2 Vanderbilt Commodores visited Foley Field over the weekend, but in the end the Dawgs ultimately fell short of capturing the series.
Hope was more than alive after the Diamond Dawgs upset the Commodores 3-1 in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Saturday. The Diamond Dawgs, led by sophomore Jared Walsh, relied on an arsenal of steady pitching to hold the Commodores in check (one run on five hits) throughout the course of the game.
Senior Blake Dieterich recorded the win in a relief effort and sophomore Jarrett Brown finished off Vandy to earn the first save in his career.
STRIKING BACK …
In the second game on Saturday, Vanderbilt showed the Bulldogs that Game 1 was just an anomaly by completely obliterating the Dawgs 15-4. The Commodores, who have quite a few MLB prospects on their roster, exploded for 19 hits including four home runs. Senior David Yastrzemski, the grandson of MLB Hall of Famer and Boston Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski, notched one of the home runs.
Senior Kyle Farmer put on a show of his own, going yard twice and knocking in all four of the Bulldogs’ runs.
Redshirt-junior Patrick Boling was lit up by the stout Commodores offense for seven runs on 11 hits in less than five innings on the mound. Sophomore Tyler Beede picked up the win for the Commodores, holding the Dawgs to four runs while fanning seven through seven innings.
RUBBER MATCH …
Sunday was a make-or-break game for the Georgia Bulldogs. Win and lock up the first SEC series victory of the season, or lose and let the bleeding continue.
This was the Bulldogs’ third SEC series where Georgia entered Sunday with a chance to take two of three. Much like the previous two series, David Perno’s team ultimately came up short. The Commodores limited Georgia to one run while scoring five of their own. Georgia dropped its sixth conference series of 2013 and collected its 26th loss of the year before the month of May, something most would have never considered at the beginning of the season.
“That’s just unacceptable this time of the year,” said Perno after the game. “We were just kicking the ball around on defense. It was embarrassing. We are in a situation where we can get to Birmingham (for the SEC Tournament), it’s not farfetched but we have to make plays. We have to have good at-bats, we have to get hits and we have to score runs. We just aren’t getting it done. There’s a lack of confidence that we have and we just can’t get over that hump right now.”
Georgia will travel to Turner Field on Tuesday to take on Georgia Tech in the “Spring Baseball Classic for Kids.” The Bulldogs will have their chance at redemption after the Yellow Jackets beat them 7-5 earlier in April.
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