Link to Article on The Red & Black
Olivia Sayer
Georgia assistant coach Josh Simpson and senior Fernando Gonzalez (13) in action during a NCAA college baseball game between Northern Colorado and Georgia at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia, on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Georgia won 11-1. (Photo/Mady Mertens: @MadyMertensPhotography)
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ryan Nicholson walked up to the plate for Kentucky. Up to this point, the left-handed Wildcat had torched Georgia’s pitching, batting over .450 in the three game series. With this in mind, Georgia’s Brian Zeldin was careful on the mound. He started Nicholson off with a pitch high and outside, followed by one slightly off the plate.
On the third pitch of the at-bat, Nicholson drilled a fastball to deep right field, giving Kentucky a 12-2 lead. The homer went far, but the most notable aspect was that it occurred with two outs.
Georgia’s pitching staff had trouble executing with two outs in the Bulldogs’ three losses to Kentucky from March 15-17 at Kentucky Proud Park. In the series, Kentucky hit .459 when down to its final out. In Sunday’s series finale, the Wildcats were 6-12.
For comparison, the Bulldogs were 2-27 in the same situation, with an 0-7 performance on Sunday.
Georgia’s pitching was questionable coming into the season, as the Bulldogs ended their 2023 campaign with a team ERA of 6.44 and a 7.33 in conference play. Of the 19 pitchers to take the mound for Georgia, only four finished with an ERA under five.
However, Georgia’s pitching performance against the Wildcats was still unexpected, as the group looked much improved over their first eighteen games. Georgia entered the series with a team ERA of 3.74 in its first season under former LSU pitching coach Wes Johnson.
“We didn’t execute pitches when we needed to, especially in tight situations and did some uncharacteristic things,” Johnson said after Friday’s loss. “We have to get better with two strikes.”
Kentucky also scored a multitude of runs with two outs, plating 16 when down to its final out. However, some of the runs scored can be attributed to defensive miscuses, as showcased in the third inning of Sunday’s contest.
After going two up, two down, Paul Toetz and Dillon Carter were unable to secure a fly ball in left center field, allowing the Wildcats to tie the game. The next two batters then followed with a triple and a homer to give Kentucky a 5-2 advantage. All of the scoring occurred with two outs.
“It was another day where the breaks didn’t go our way early and then when the snowball started down the hill, we couldn’t stop it,” Johnson said after Sunday’s loss. “We have to be able to stop it. We have to get better in the batter’s box, on the pitcher’s mound, and believe we can get out of a situation when things don’t go our way.”
Georgia’s offense was licking its chops heading into the series, as the Bulldogs have been on fire to start the season, leading the NCAA in home runs, home runs per game and slugging percentage. Georgia is also on pace to shatter its season home runs record, as the team has already hit 56 in 21 games.
Plus, Georgia’s coaching staff now features former Kentucky assistant coach Will Coggin, who serves as Georgia’s assistant head coach and hitting coach.
However, aside from the first game, the Wildcats stifled the Bulldogs’ offense, limiting the potent group to three and two runs in the final two games. With two outs, Georgia only plated five runs in the series. Two-out offense had been a strength for the team heading into the matchup.
“We scored 10 runs on only seven hits and left way too many baserunners on,” Johnson said after Friday’s loss.
Georgia will have a chance to get back on track Tuesday evening, when it returns to Foley Field to take on Wofford at 5 p.m. The Terriers are off to a 13-4 start but lack the power that the Bulldogs have, with an average of only one home run per game.
In regard to pitching, Wofford’s 17 opponents have only left the ballpark 10 times, which is a number the Bulldogs look to inflate.