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By Olivia Sayer
Georgia teammates huddle on the mound during the first round of the 2024 SEC Baseball Tournament between LSU and Georgia at the Hoover Met Stadium in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Georgia lost 9-1. (Photo/Mady Mertens; MadyMertensPhotography)
Georgia baseball’s run in the 2024 SEC Tournament lasted just three hours and 15 minutes. The six-seed Bulldogs fell to 11-seed LSU 9-1 in the first round of the Tournament Tuesday morning in Hoover, Ala.
Georgia’s pitching staff got in trouble against an LSU team that won four of its last five SEC series to end the regular season. Poor execution both on the mound and in the batter’s box plagued the Bulldogs in their third-straight loss.
“I think there’s times in this game when you get beat, and then there’s times you let the other team win,” head coach Wes Johnson said. “And you look at the way we played today, and I feel that’s where it is. We gave up 11 singles, we walked too many guys, missed too many balls in the strike zone. So, I can’t say, obviously, [that] we came out prepared and ready to go. I thought our preparation was fine. We just did some things that are very uncharacteristic for us.”
Since the Bulldogs wanted to keep Kolten Smith and Leighton Finley on regular rest, Jarvis Evans got the start on the mound.
“If you’re in a position where you don’t have to win both [Tuesday and Wednesday’s] games, you got to be careful on how fast you do reset your pitching based on what you got the next week,” Johnson said after Georgia’s final regular season series. “So you don’t know how things are going to play out. Obviously, we’re going to be in a Regional somewhere. You want to make sure you’re putting yourself in the best position to be competitive game one of that.”
Evans’ last appearance was May 9 at South Carolina, when the left-hander recorded just one out after allowing three runs. In game one of the SEC Tournament, his performance was not much better. Evans, once again, only recorded one out and gave up two runs before getting lifted for Christian Mracna with the bases loaded.
Mracna got out of the situation and kept the game manageable for the Bulldogs. However, in his four innings on the mound, he allowed three runs. The right-hander has not had a scoreless outing since April 27 at Texas A&M, when the Aggies’ head coach reportedly accused Mracna of doctoring his glove.
Despite the pitching struggles, the game was well within reach for a Georgia offense that entered the SEC Tournament second in the conference in several offensive categories.
In the bottom of the second, a single and a groundout had Georgia trailing by three. After Paul Toetz struck out looking to begin the inning, two consecutive Bulldogs reached to put runners on first and second for Fernando Gonzalez. The senior catcher grounded one to the left side of the infield to score Georgia’s first run of the game.
The hit appeared to be the beginning of a potential offensive explosion, as Georgia had two runners on base with the top of its lineup at the plate. Instead, it ended as the Bulldogs’ lone RBI of the game.
In the top of the fifth, another pair of singles extended LSU’s lead to four. An inning later, Dylan Goldstein almost trimmed the lead with a pinch-hit home run, but a leaping grab at the right field wall sent him back to the dugout.
The Tigers used a three-run top of the ninth to take a 9-1 lead and put the final nail in the coffin of Georgia’s SEC Tournament run.
The Bulldogs could not get anything going against LSU’s Gage Jump, who limited the formidable group to just four hits in a must-win game for the Tigers.
Both teams were assisted by stellar defensive plays. In the top of the third, LSU’s center-fielder made a sliding catch to rob Charlie Condon of a hit. A batter later, the Tigers’ third baseman made a barehanded throw across the diamond to rob Tre Phelps of an infield single.
A couple of innings later, Condon returned the favor. With the bases loaded, he made a stop on one knee, touched the third base bag and made a strong throw to first to complete an inning ending double play.
Hoover has not been kind to the Bulldogs, as they were eliminated in the first round of the SEC Tournament for the third-straight year. In 28 Tournament appearances, Georgia is one of three SEC schools to have not won a title.
The Bulldogs now await their NCAA Tournament bid. In most projections, Georgia is a lock to host a Regional round. However, the 9-1 loss muddled its chances of becoming a national seed.
In D1 Baseball’s latest ‘Field of 64’ projections, the Bulldogs are the eighth seed. In this scenario, Georgia would secure the last national seed and host both a Regional and a Super, should it advance. However, after the loss, Georgia’s postseason path will largely depend on how Florida State, NC State and Virginia fare in the ACC Tournament.
The final bracket will be revealed by a selection show Monday at 12 p.m. on ESPN2.