The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rain dispute doesn’t deter 10-1 Bulldogs
A 9-3 lead is erased, but Gonzalez has pair of game-winning hits.
At the start of each week throughout the regular season, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will take a closer look at the Georgia baseball team. Here’s a breakdown of the Bulldogs going into the fourth week of the campaign:
Record: 10-1, 0-0 SEC. Streak: Won 2. Last week (3-1): Tuesday, beat Presbyterian College 4-3; Wednesday, lost to Michigan State 19-6 (7 innings); Friday, at Georgia Tech, suspended because of rain; Saturday, beat Georgia Tech 3-1; Sunday, beat Georgia Tech 11-9.
This Week: Today, vs. Georgia Southern in North Augusta, S.C., 3 p.m.; Wednesday, vs. Stetson, 6:30 p.m.; Friday, vs. Northern Colorado, 5 p.m.; Saturday, DH vs. N. Colorado, 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.; Sunday, vs. Northern Colorado, 1 p.m.
Week in review: The week featured the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It could not have ended any better than it did Sunday when the Bulldogs rallied from a 9-3 deficit to beat Georgia Tech 11-9 at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville. Earlier in the week, Georgia dropped its first game of the season, a run-rule loss to Michigan State.
The Bulldogs were furious Friday night after umpires halted the game at Georgia Tech due to inclement weather with Georgia leading 9-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Delayed 46 minutes due to rain, the game probably should have never started. But once it was, the Bulldogs felt every effort should have been made to make it official, which it would have been had the teams played another half-inning. The game was called with Georgia already on the field to play defense.
The teams will attempt to complete the game at a later date in Atlanta. The Bulldogs have agreed to come back whenever schedules will allow.
Georgia pulled out a gritty 3-1 win Saturday in Athens, a game in which Charlie Condon’s hitting streak was snapped but he made three incredible defensive plays.
Things didn’t look good for the Bulldogs on Sunday. Trailing through six innings 9-3, Georgia rallied for a victory. The Bulldogs scored five runs on four hits to make it a one-run game heading into the ninth. After walks by Corey Collins and Clayton Chadwick, Sebastian Murillo hit a sacrifice fly off an 0-2 pitch and Fernando Gonzalez drove in the winning run for the second game in a row with a double down the left-field line. Gonzalez’s solo home run Saturday plated the winning run in Athens.
In the bottom of the ninth, Brian Zeldin, a graduate transfer from Penn, used a pair of strikeouts to record his second save in the series and third this season.
Week ahead: The Bulldogs will play five games over six days. That starts tonight in North Augusta, S.C., as Georgia makes its annual trek to SRP Park to take on Georgia Southern. The Eagles (4-7) dropped two of three to Campbell this past weekend. They also lost two of three this season to Maryland and Mississippi State.
Georgia will squeeze in a midweek game vs. Stetson on Wednesday at Foley Field. The Hatters (8-4) beat No. 4 Florida 7-4 on Feb. 27 and split a series against West Virginia this season, but this will be their first game away from DeLand, Fla.
The Bulldogs will play four home games over the weekend vs. Northern Colorado (0-11).