A defensive gem, a little baseball magic 56 years in the making helped spark No. 5 Georgia to its 5-2 win over No. 21 Missouri Friday night at Foley Field.
A triple play – the program’s first since 1963 – got the Georgia out of a bases loaded jam in the first, before a four-run response in the inning's bottom half proved to be all the runs the Bulldogs (32-8, 12-5) would need.
“That was a big momentum swing,” third baseman Aaron Schunk said. “It was a guaranteed one or two runs, and then we put up four runs. That was tough for them, but for us it was certainly good to swing that momentum.”
With the bases loaded and nobody out, designated hitter Peter Zimmerman launched a deep drive to right, that Riley King had to leap in order to snatch off the top of the wall.
Apparently, Tiger base runner Kameron Misner didn’t believe the ball would be caught, as he was three-quarters of the way to second when King wheeled and fired to first baseman Patrick Sullivan who made the easy tag for the second out.
Misner wasn’t the only one not paying attention. In his attempt to tag, Clayton Peterson left third base too early, and after an appeal was called out.
Missouri (26-14-1, 7-9-1) appealed, but the call held, bringing a roar from the Foley Field crowd of 2,962.
“Off the bat, the wind was blowing out, I thought it was a grand slam,” head coach Scott Stricklin said. “My heart kind of sank, I thought it was out of the park but then the guys jumped up in front of me and all I heard was ‘the wall’ and then the crowd noise. So, I didn’t actually see Riley catch it, and then I looked up and saw Misner was already at second base, so I knew we were going to get a double play. Then all of a sudden everyone started pointing to third and yelling, so I just joined the party. We appealed, got the call and I still have no idea. I just know the umpire was very emphatic, so he must have seen that he left early.”
Freshman pitcher Cole Wilcox (1-0) was the other big story of the night.
After taking over for starter C.J. Smith, Wilcox tossed four innings of two-hit ball with one hit and five strikeouts to help preserve Georgia’s win and give the Chickamauga native his first collegiate victory.
Other than King, he made one of the night’s two big defensive players when he somehow snagged a line drive right back to the mound by Chad McDaniel to not only keep from getting drilled, but managing to keep another Missouri run left stranded at third.
“It was self-defense. I barely remember any of it, luckily I got my glove in front,” Wilcox said. “I think it was in front of my face, but I’ve got to go back and watch the replay. I really don’t know.”
Schunk closed out the contest, extending his league-lead in saves with a scoreless ninth, although the inning didn’t come without a scare.
Pinch-hitter Connor Brumfield lined a shot back to the mound that caught Schunk on the back of his right thigh. Fortunately, Schunk was able to stay in and after a fielding error by Cole Tate brought the tying run to the plate, the Bulldog junior got Chris Cornelius on a fly ball to right ending the game.
Offensively, Georgia showed a bit more life.
Apparently, King’s catch and subsequent triple play put some juice back in the Bulldogs’ bats as Georgia struck for four runs in the inning’s bottom half, the big hit a two-run opposite field double by second baseman LJ Talley.
Missouri would strike for two in the second on a double by Paul Gomez, but Georgia answered back, using Tucker Maxwell’s eighth home run to push the lead back to 5-2.
Smith (four innings, six hits, two walks), meanwhile, didn’t have his best control. The left seemed to struggle with his grip on what as a chilly, breezy night, only going four innings before giving way to Wilcox after a hit-batter and base hit by Clayton Peterson put runners at first and third with nobody out.
It turned out to be the right move. Wilcox responded by striking out the next three batters, sending the game to the bottom of the fifth with Georgia still in front 5-2.
“He’s fun to watch, 97-98 with a good slider and changeup, he threw some really good pitches and deserved to win tonight,” Stricklin said. “C.J. did not have his stuff, he just didn’t have it but he got us through four innings. That’s huge to see a guy like that without his stuff compete that much to get us through four. We don’t win that game without C.J.”
NEXT UP: Georgia and Missouri will wrap up their series Saturday at noon. … Former Georgia and current Mizzou pitching coach Fred Corral was thrown out of the game in the fourth for arguing with umpires. … Tony Locey (6-0, 1.93) gets the start for Georgia in Saturday’s finale against Missouri ace TJ Sikkema (4-2, 1.11).
