Rogers walks it off for the Georgia victory
With the game tied and runners at first and second in the bottom of the ninth, on-deck hitter Kameron Guidry had a quick conversation with Chaney Rogers, just before he strolled to the plate.
Moments later, Rogers lifted a three-run home run over the fence in right and onto Kudzu Hill, to lift the Bulldogs past North Florida, 7-4.
“Yeah, we had a little talk,” Guidry said. “We didn’t want to play any extras today, and he finished the job. I’m proud of him.”
Down by two entering the seventh, and facing a tough reliever in lefty Eddie Miller, Georgia rallied to tie the game on an RBI double by Guidry, before getting to closer Brandon Reitz in the ninth for the win.
The inning started when Luke Wagner reached on a leadoff single before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Shane Marshall.
After an intentional walk to Garrett Blaylock, Rogers launched his third home run of the year to give the Bulldogs the come-from-behind win.
“That’s when our guys really started to lock in,” head coach Scott Stricklin said. “I thought we had great at-bats the last three innings and just found a way to win the game.”
Freshman Hank Bearden (1-0) earned the win after throwing a scoreless ninth, an inning in which he walked the leadoff batter but came back to retire the next three hitters, including a strikeout of Alex Kachler, who homered three times over the three games.
“I think I was a little amped up coming into the game,” Bearden said. “I just had to settle down and get the next guys out
Freshman Jaden Woods made his third start for Georgia. Other than allowing a two-run homer to Kachler in the third, he pitched fairly well. The lefty would go a career-high 5.2 innings,
In the fifth, Blaylock's notched his first career triple to right center, and scored when shortstop Abraham Sequera launched the ball into the netting over third.
In the sixth, Woods’ day came to an end after a hit-by-pitch to put a runner at first in favor of Jack Gowen.
Unfortunately, the move backfired, as the righty reliever gave up a double to Austin Bogart to push across a run and put runners at second and third.
Stricklin turned to lefty Ben Harris, who responded by striking out pinch hitter Cade Westbrook to get out of further trouble.
In the bottom of the inning, Georgia (9-3) loaded the bases with nobody out, but managed just one run after Riley King grounded into a double play before Connor Tate struck out to end the inning.
North Florida would add another run in the seventh, but this time, the Bulldogs would come back to tie the game against Miller.
Following a one-out triple by Marshall, Blaylock brought him home with a groundout to short, before Guidry doubled in Rogers for a 4-4 score.
In the eighth, North Florida (4-8) had a chance to reclaim the lead. But freshman Collin Caldwell enticed a 4-unassisted-3 double play to escape and keep the game where it was.
“When you overcome adversity, you feel pretty good about it. The adversity itself tears you up, it’s nerve-wracking, and it’s tough,” Stricklin said. “When you have so many kids out there, you’re going to have your ups and downs. You’re going to have some tough moments, but we put our kids in tough situations, and today they got the job done.”
This and that
…Michael Polk made his season debut after missing the first part of the season with a sore arm. Polk went two-thirds of an inning, giving up one hit, two walks, and one strikeout.
…Guidry has come up big for Georgia in two starts. After going 1 for 3 with a two-run triple in Saturday’s 6-0 win, he drove in Sunday’s tying run with a double to right center.
…Freshman Parks Harber (wrist) took batting practice for the first time on the field. He'll travel to Georgia Southern on Tuesday. Stricklin said he expects Harber to be available to pinch hit.
…Shortstop Cole Tate (hamstring) is 85 percent per Stricklin, and hopes he'll play Tuesday. Infielder Josh McAllister (hamstring) and Buddy Floyd (foreman) remain day-to-day.
…Pitcher Jonathan Cannon (mono) will make his season debut Tuesday, but will be on a pitch count.