The Tennessee Volunteers are off to a hot start in Friday’s SEC play.
In the first game of the three-game series, the Vols defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 7-4 in Athens. The Vols are getting timely hitting and solid pitching, and it looks like a good weekend is coming.
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Unfortunately, things were different on Saturday. The Vols had seven hits on the day but only scored two runs. As a result, the Bulldogs won Game 2 4-2, setting themselves up for an important rubber matchup on Sunday.
The rubber game couldn’t have started better for the Vols. Reese Chapman got the Vols on the board with a two-run double in the first. Manny Marin then came up with a single to score Chapman, giving the Vols a 3-0 lead before the Bulldogs came up to bat.
Neither team scored again until the end of the third game. Henry Ford hit a two-point field bomb to extend the Vols’ lead to 5-0. The Bulldogs converted three of their own and Marin added another to give Tennessee a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh quarter.
The second half of the seventh quarter turned into a disaster for the Vols. After the Vols’ offensive explosion, the team went from a three-point lead to a two-point deficit.
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The Vols struck back with a home run by Blake Grimmer to tie the game at one. However, Georgia’s Justin Byrd made it to the final, securing his second save of the season and clinching the series victory for the Bulldogs.
Dealing with this problem can be very frustrating. The Vols had the series victory within reach, but Georgia’s stellar defense and timely hitting would ultimately make the difference.
It’s disappointing to start the divisional series with a series loss, but it’s far from time to panic. As Islander said after the game, the difference in this series was “one swing of the bat and a couple of fielding plays.”
The Vols will now have a midweek game against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels before preparing for next weekend’s SEC home opener against Missouri State.