Sports

Final Score: Georgia 3, LSU 2. So that’s it from Foley Field. The Dogs get two much-needed wins today. They’re now 3-3 in SEC play. They play one game at Clemson on Tuesday, then head back home for a three-game series against Misssissippi State. Thanks for reading, fans.

Top 7th: Georgia 3, LSU 2– More defensive changes. RHP Tyler Maloof will try to close the game out. He has seven saves in nine appearances. Jonathan Hester is now playing first base for the Bulldogs. Jones grounds out to second. Rhymes gets in a single over the infielders’ heads. Hanover pops out to short. It’s up to slugger Mikie Mahtook to save the game for LSU. A groundout to second, and that will do it. The Dogs win, 3-2, grabbing both games of the doubleheader and winning two out of three against LSU. Gullickson gets his second win of the year, while Maloof earns his eighth save.

Bottom 6th: Georgia 3, LSU 2– Ty Ross is now catching for the Tigers. Grant Dozar comes in at first base. DeRoach singles to left. Lance Martin in to pinch run. Ruiz hits into a fielder’s choice, Martin out at second. A great throw by Ross to pick off the steal attempt by Ruiz. Alsup walks May. Stephens flies out to center, and the inning is over. Heading into the last inning, it’s still Georgia 3, LSU 2.

Top 6th: Georgia 3, LSU 2– Katz flies out to center. Edward does the same. Snikeris hits a single between third and short for his second hit of the game. Dieterich’s wild pitch sends Snikeris to second. LSU sends in Beau Didier to pinch run for Snikeris. Ty Ross is in as a pinch hitter. Ross singles right up the middle, but Cone makes a great throw to nail Didier at the plate. Georgia preserves its slim lead.

Bottom 5th: Georgia 3, LSU 2– Verdin flies out to deep left. Farmer chops one right back to Eades for another out. Cone makes it three up, three down with a groundout to short.

Top 5th: Georgia 3, LSU 2– Pitching change for the Bulldogs: LHP Blake Dieterich takes the mound. He fans Watkins to start out the inning. Jones earns a walk after a full count. Rhymes singles to center, Jones to second. Hanover flies out to right field. Verdin nearly picked off Jones at third after the catch, but Jones slides in safely. Georgia coach comes out, and Gullickson will intentionally walk Mahtook, who hit a home run in the fourth and has 27 RBI on the year. The bases are loaded for Nola. Nola gives it a ride to deep center, but Cone makes the catch at the warning track. LSU strands three and still trails, 3-2.

(more…)

Final Score: Georgia 9, LSU 5. Palazzone improves to 3-1 with his first complete game. He gave up five runs on seven hits and struck out four. Gausman (2-2) gets the loss for LSU, giving up seven runs on six hits. Farmer had three RBIs on a bases-loaded double in the second inning. Welton went 2-3 and scored twice. Ruiz also scored twice and had the game’s only home run. Georgia’s record improves to 10-13 (2-3 SEC), while the Tigers have lost four of their first five SEC games. We have the second game of this doubleheader coming up in just a little bit. Stay tuned.

Top 7th: Georgia 9, LSU 5– Jones grounds out to short. Rhymes grounds out to third. Hanover bloops a single into shallow center. Mahtook grounds to second, and that’s the ballgame. Georgia ends its four-game losing streak with an impressive 9-5 win in the first game of this doubleheader.

Bottom 6th: Georgia 9, LSU 5– Farmer pops up to first. Cone flies out to center. Chase Davidson pinch-hits for the Bulldogs. He’s batting .280 on the year, goes down swinging. Three up, three down. LSU will have one more chance to score four runs in this seven-inning game. Georgia up, 9-5.

Top 6th: Georgia 9, LSU 5– Two defensive changes for Georgia: Jonathan Hester is in at first base, and Colby May is in at third. Palazzone strikes out Katz, who watches a pitch get the outside corner. Ross singles to center. Lowery lines out to right. Watkins grounds into a fielder’s choice; Ross is out at second. Palazzone has been great since that four-run third inning. He’s allowed two hits and struck out two in the last three innings.

Bottom 5th: Georgia 7, LSU 5– HOME RUN. Ruiz opens up the bottom of the fifth with a solo shot to right. That’s the second career home run for Ruiz and his first since last season. Welton hits a standup double to center. LSU makes a second change at the mound. Right-hander Kevin Barry is now pitching. Barry has pitched in 11 games this season, with one save. He has allowed just four hits in 8.2 innings pitched. Stephens heads to the plate with two hits in two at-bats. Stephens does his job on the bunt, getting Welton to third. One out. Powell earns a walk. Leadoff man Hyams flies out to center on a good catch by Mahtook; Welton scores. Powell steals second. Verdin flies out to short to end the inning. Bulldogs score twotrand one. The scoreboard reads 9-5, Georgia.

Top 5th: Georgia 7, LSU 5– Hanover flies out to left-centerfield. Mahtook is now 2-3 on the day after flying out to shallow center. Nola also flies out to center, making it three and out. It’s time for the fifth inning stretch.

(more…)

And the game has been officially postponed. The rain wouldn’t let up, and the teams will play two seven-inning games tomorrow starting at 12pm. I’ll be back to fill you in on those games. Sorry to disappoint any who were really looking forward to reading about some Saturday afternoon baseball. But check back here tomorrow at noon, and I promise to make it up to you, barring any unreasonably high expectations.

It’s been about a thirty-minute delay now, and the players on both teams are growing restless. They’ve resorted to a new method of competition: they’re writing messages on baseballs and tossing the balls back and forth to the opposing dugout. It’s like instant messaging without electronics. Got to love old-school communication.

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will finish up their series against LSU tomorrow at 2pm at Foley, then take a one-day trip up to Clemson on Tuesday. On April 1, they resume their SEC schedule in a three-game home series against Mississippi State (16-6, 2-2 SEC). Georgia ranks dead last in the SEC in both team batting and team pitching. They do not have a player ranked in the top 10 for any major category in the SEC.

(more…)

At halftime, the Georgia Bulldogs thought they had Vanderbilt guard John Jenkins figured out. An hour later, they were sitting in the locker room in shock, having witnessed one of the greatest second-half shooting performances this season.

Jenkins scored all 21 of his points in the final 14 minutes, and Georgia blew a 14-point second half lead, losing 64-56 at home to 18th-ranked Vanderbilt.

The Commodores improved to 19-6 (7-4 SEC) and took over second place in the SEC East. The Bulldogs fell to 17-8 (6-5), dropping yet another crucial conference game at Stegeman Coliseum.

Jenkins, Vanderbilt’s leading scorer, was held scoreless on 0-5 shooting in the first half, but he erupted in the second, hitting five three-pointers and bringing the Commodores back in a game that looked all but lost when Georgia went up by 14 points with 14:34 left to play.

“We knew at some point he was going to come in and get hot,” Bulldogs guard Dustin Ware said of Jenkins. “He’s a great shooter. You’re never going to completely shut a guy like that out.”

The whole Vanderbilt team was lights out from deep in the second half, going 9-12 from long range. It was a remarkable turnaround from a first half in which the Commodores shot a dreadful 8-37 (21.6%). They stayed close, however, with dominant rebounding. They enjoyed a 49-32 rebounding advantage over Georgia and snagged 23 offensive boards, which they cashed in for 18 second-chance points.

“We won the (rebounding) battle the first game,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said after the game, “and they probably put an emphasis on it. They just killed us.”

A three-pointer by Travis Leslie put Georgia up 53-40 with 9:48 to play. From then on, Vanderbilt went on a 24-3 run to finish the game. This included a 15-2 stretch in which the Commodores hit five three-pointers, four by Jenkins.

Gerald Robinson led the Bulldogs with 15 points. Ware added 12, going 4-6 from three-point range. Leading scorer Trey Thompkins struggled all night, finishing 2-10 with eight points.

Center Festus Ezeli had a big game for the Commodores, putting up 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks. Rod Odom chipped in 11 points.

The Bulldogs led for nearly the entire game, and when Sherrard Brantley hit a three to give the Bulldogs a 40-26 lead with 14:34 left in the game, Georgia looked to be running away with it.

But Jenkins responded with his first three to end an 11-0 Georgia run. Both teams then caught fire from deep, combining for six threes in a 2:35 span where the Commodores answered each Georgia three with one of their own.

Jenkins finally gave Vanderbilt the lead back on a lay-up with 2:50 left to play. The Bulldogs couldn’t get any shots to go down, and Jenkins sealed the win at the free throw line.

“Definitely another tough loss,” Robinson said. “It just all comes down to being able to play all 40 minutes. We played hard. We just weren’t able to hold on to it.”

The loss ends a string of three consecutive SEC wins for the Bulldogs, their longest such streak in four years. The Commodores have now won four straight games.

This loss doesn’t help Georgia out as they try to make a bid for their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2008. And with road trips to Tennessee and Florida next on the schedule, it’s clear that the Bulldogs still have work to do.

“At this time of year, you’re always trying to get as many wins as you can,” Ware said. ”Every game is big. We’re definitely looking to get as many as we can.”

Final Score: Vanderbilt 64, Georgia 56. It was a tale of two halves for the Commodores. In the first, they shot 8-37. In the second, they hit nine three-pointers. John Jenkins exploded in the second half, scoring all 21 of his points in the final 14 minutes. The ‘Dogs led by as many as 14 in the second, but they let this game slip away in a big way. On fire for the first part of the second half, the Bulldogs went ice cold, managing just three points in the last 9:30 of the game. This loss won’t help the Bulldogs’ Tournament hopes, but it’s a huge road win for Vanderbilt, who now has sole possession of second place in the SEC East. A full recap of the game will follow soon. Thanks for reading, everyone.

Vanderbilt 60, UGA 56, 0:11 left in second half–Fans are heading for the exits as Jenkins hits two free throws. Another miss by the Bulldogs, and they have to foul. A technical foul is called on the Bulldogs, and fans are throwing things onto the court.

Vanderbilt 58, UGA 56, 0:21 left in second half–Vanderbilt gets a series of offensive rebounds but can’t cash them in. Leslie misses a shot at the other end, and the ball goes out of bounds to Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt 57, UGA 56, 1:32 left in second half–Timeout, Georgia. A truly remarkable turn of events. Jenkins hits a tough lay-up while being fouled to give Vanderbilt its first lead since the 15:43 mark of the first half. Thompkins gets to the line but makes just one of two. Price gets whistled for his fourth foul, and Ezeli makes one of two.

UGA 55, Vanderbilt 55, 3:26 left in second half–Jenkins just refuses to miss a shot. His fifth three-pointer of the second half ties the game up for the first time since the opening minutes. Georgia held a 14-point lead at the 14:13 mark of the half, but that has completely evaporated thanks to lights out shooting by the Commodores. The Bulldogs are taking much longer to get into their offensive setup. This one is going down to the wire.

UGA 53, Vanderbilt 52, 4:40 left in second half–Timeout, Georgia. The Bulldogs have led almost the entire game, but the lead is now down to one. Jenkins hits yet another three-pointer as the shot clock expires. Tinsley adds a three of his own, and Mark Fox has no choice but to try to rally his team.

UGA 53, Vanderbilt 46, 7:38 left in second half–Timeout, Georgia. John Jenkins is officially on fire after hitting his third three of the half with 8:43 to play to cut the Bulldog lead to seven. Ezeli continues to deny the Bulldogs access in the paint, bringing his block total to six. Neither team seems interested in paint penetration at the moment, though. Not when they’re hitting outside shots at this rate.

UGA 53, Vanderbilt 43, 9:30 left in second half–One of the craziest games in the SEC this year. All of a sudden, neither team can miss. Both have made five threes in the second half. Jenkins, who was scoreless in the first half, hit a three with 13:14 left to end an 11-0 Georgia run. Dustin Ware hits his fourth triple of the night, but that was quickly answered by Jeffery Taylor’s trey. Robinson, Odom, Leslie, and Jenkins all hit threes within a minute and six seconds after that.

UGA 37, Vanderbilt 26, 15:22 left in second half–Timeout, Vanderbilt. Stegeman comes alive as the Bulldogs score eight straight points. Price converts a three-point play off a nice feed from Leslie with 16:26 to go. Ware follows that up with his third three-pointer of the game. The Bulldogs finally get some points in transition as Robinson grabs a long rebound and takes it all the way for a lay-up.

(more…)