BATON ROUGE, LA. – The No. 20 LSU Tigers used three home runs to defeat 16th-ranked Georgia 6-2 Friday in front of an announced paid crowd of 11,145 at Alex Box Stadium.
Georgia (29-13, 11-8 SEC) loaded the bases in the first with one out and failed to score. It was a frustrating night offensively as the Bulldogs ultimately left 13 men on base including the bases loaded in the fourth. Ben Anderson opened the game with a single to extend his hitting streak to seven games, and then he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cory Acton (career-high 3-for-4). Connor Tate and Corey Collins drew walks after they both fell behind in the count 0-2. LSU right-hander Ma’Khail Hillard battled back to strike out Parks Harber and Cole Wagner to end the threat.
LSU (28-13, 11-8 SEC) grabbed the early advantage courtesy of a two-out, two-run home run by senior catcher Tyler McManus in the second off Nolan Crisp. It was his fourth home run of the year. In the top of the third, Georgia answered with a two-run home run from Tate. It was Tate’s sixth of the year as Acton was on after a leadoff single. The Tigers reclaimed a 4-2 lead with another two-out, two-run home run, this one from sophomore Cade Doughty, his ninth of the season.
Georgia loaded the bases again in the fourth and Hilliard got Collins to line out to second to maintain the Tigers lead. In the bottom of the frame, Jordan Thompson beat out an infield single and then Brayden Jobert reached on a pop up that fell in shallow centerfield between infielders Harber and Acton. Following a sacrifice bunt, Georgia lifted Crisp in favor of Luke Wagner. The Tigers made it 5-2 on a sacrifice fly by Josh Stevenson. Wagner retired Josh Pearson to end the inning. In the seventh, a two-out, solo home run by Dylan Crews, his 11th of the year, put the Tigers ahead 6-2.
“We had really good at bats to put us in position to do some damage,” said Georgia's Scott Stricklin. “We had the bases loaded twice, we had second and third one time, and they won those battles. You have to tip your hat to their pitchers. Hilliard did a really good job of sneaking out of some really tough spots especially in the first inning. We had him on the ropes as he threw 35 pitches in the first inning, and we don’t score. (Nolan) Crisp gave us a chance on the mound, and I thought Luke did a really good job out of the bullpen. Nolan wasn’t as sharp as he has been, but he competes. We just didn’t have good at bats with runners in scoring position.”
In the Alabama series last week, Georgia allowed just five runs, and they all came on home runs, three solo and a two-run shot. On Friday, the Tigers three home runs accounted for five of their six runs. Crisp dropped to 1-2, allowing five runs on six hits in 3.1 innings. Hilliard stayed perfect at 5-0 in his 10th start, providing six innings with seven strikeouts. Wagner was solid in relief, pitching 3.2 innings and allowed a run on two hits with five strikeouts. Collin Caldwell and Will Pearson combined to take care of the final inning.
The series continues Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 3:02 p.m. ET, and it will be available on SECN+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
