A young Georgia fan in the stands was overheard in the top of the eighth inning at Foley Field yelling to anyone who would listen, “This is fun!”
The majority of the 3,696 in attendance no doubt agreed.
An eight-run seventh inning – highlighted by a three-run homer by Garrett Blaylock, followed by a solo shot by Fernando Gonzalez, brought the Bulldogs back from a four-run deficit, enabling the Bulldogs to surge past Florida 14-8.
The win enabled the 23rd-ranked Bulldogs (22-6, 6-3) to sweep a three-game series from the No. 14 Gators (18-10, 3-6) for the second time since 2019.
“We’re feeling really good. We weren’t playing our best ball,” Blaylock said. “We were down 6-2 and were playing pretty bad, actually. But we were able to salvage it and kept on having good at-bats.”
There were plenty to go around for the Bulldogs who at one point trailed 6-2 before heading into seventh down by three.
An infield hit and a throwing error by Gator shortstop Josh Rivera brought Georgia to 6-5, before an infield hit by Josh McAllister tied the game.
Parks Harber followed with a go-ahead single, bringing up Blaylock who launched his third home run deep over the fence in right for a 10-6 lead.
“I always feel I have a chance to do something like that,” Blaylock said. “We talk a lot within our team about having positive self-talk, and I just had to remind myself that I got a barrel in my previous at-bat, and I just needed to try and do it again.”
Georgia wasn’t done.
Gonzalez followed with his first home run of the year, a deep shot over the fence in left.
Florida used a two-run homer by BT Riopello to make the score 11-8 in the eighth, but Connor Tate answered a with a three-run homer in the inning’s bottom half to account for the final score. Tate went 3-for-5 with five RBI. Twin brother Cole Tate also went 3-for-5 with Ben Anderson going 3-for-4 with four runs scored.
“We talk about toughness all the time and I thought we really showed it today,” head coach Scott Stricklin said. “We didn’t start out very well (three errors). We gave them too many opportunities, but we overcame it.”
Starting pitcher Nolan Crisp gave the Bulldogs all they could ask.
The former Gator, who transferred to Georgia prior to last year, went a career-long 4.1 innings, retiring 12 straight at one point before tiring in the fifth.
Ironically, Crisp’s last start came as a member of the Gators against Georgia back in 2019.
“It was good to be on the Dawgs side today,” said Crisp, who allowed three hits. “(Pitching coach Sean) Kenny gave me a call about 9:30 last night that I was going to start. I kind of took it personal and really wanted to do everything I could to give us a chance to win today.”
Crisp was ultimately charged with giving up the tying run but should have left the game with the score right there.
After Chandler Marsh replaced Crisp and recorded a strikeout with runners at second and third, it looked like the Bulldogs were about to get out of the inning when Colby Halter lofted a high fly to right.
Blaylock seemed to get to the ball in time, but had it bounce off his glove for a two-run error.
Jud Fabian followed with a two-run homer and 6-2 lead before the Bulldogs rallied back for the win.
“I need to make that play, I’ve got to make that play,” said Blaylock, who took over in right field for an injured Chaney Rogers in the fifth. “I just tried to put it past me. Again, you talk about the positive self-talk, move on from it and try to do something positive for the team.”
The Bulldogs scored two in the first, but it should have been more, yet Georgia was unable to add any more despite runners at second and third with nobody out.
Anderson scored on a wild pitch following a leadoff triple in the fifth to cut the lead to 6-3 before the Bulldogs rallied back by scoring 11 runs in their final two innings.
Will Pearson (1-1) earned the win after throwing a scoreless two innings before Jaden Woods stuck out three of the six batters he faced to earn his second save.
Notes:
… With his walk in the first inning, Anderson has reached base in 26 straight games.
… Connor Tate’s RBI double in the first extended his hitting streak to nine games. Tate’s five RBI tied a career-high which he has accomplished three times.
… Stricklin said Rogers was forced to leave the game due to a strained shoulder that first began bothering him last week. “It’s been bothering him, it’s been sore. He began complaining about it being a little sore,” Stricklin said. “He took a swing, felt something a little sore in there. We didn’t know if he was going to play today. It’s one of those things where a couple of days off is going to be good.”
