In games between teams as evenly matched as No. 3 Georgia and No. 5 Texas, one mistake can often determine the outcome.
That’s a lesson that the Bulldogs learned the hard way, after a dropped fly ball in right by Daniel Jackson led to five Texas runs in the seventh, resulting in the Longhorns taking a 7-4 win.
The loss drops the Bulldogs to 29-4, 8-3 in the SEC. Texas improves to 25-4 and 10-1.
“We have to continue to work on things and get better, as today we let some things get away from us. We have to pound the strike zone and not walk people. We have to quit chasing. We didn’t play very good baseball today," head coach Wes Johnson said. "There’s times in this game where you just go out and win games; there’s times you get beat; and then there’s times you beat yourself; and today was one of those days when we beat ourselves. We put a few runs on the board early and then just didn’t play well after that.”
Georgia got on the board quickly.
An RBI double in the first by Nolan McCarthy drove in Ryland Zaborowski, who reached on a two-out error.
The Bulldogs tacked on two more in the third on an RBI double by Robbie Burnett and a fielder’s choice by Zaborowski.
Slate Alford’s two-out double off starter Luke Harrison pushed the margin to 4-0 before a two-run homer by Jacque Stewart cut the lead in half.
Curley would wind up stranding two runners in the fifth before striking out his ninth batter in the inning, giving way to Kolten Smith to start the 6th.
“He was good for the first three innings, but then you look at the runs they scored on the walks," Johnson said of Curley. "He has got to get over the hump of not walking guys later in the game.”
Unfortunately for Georgia, Smith and the Bulldogs could not get it done.
With a runner on first and one out, a fly ball to right was dropped by Jackson, with the error leading to a five-run seventh by the Longhorns.
Georgia and Texas wrap up their series on Sunday at 2.
