With injuries mounting, Bulldogs get much-needed win
Injuries to its pitching staff, and now to its starting outfield, are making Georgia’s push for a spot in the NCAA Tournament more difficult than once thought.
With the regular season coming to an end later this week, the opportunities for some much-needed victories are quickly winding down.
That’s one of the reasons Sunday’s 6-1 victory over the ninth-ranked Gators could not have come at a more opportune time for the Bulldogs (29-20, 12-15).
“It was really a must-win and we came up with a good performance at the right time,” head coach Scott Stricklin told UGASports in a telephone interview after the game. “Bottom line is we found a way to win.”
Injuries, while no excuse, are not helping Georgia’s cause.
Already minus starting pitcher Ryan Webb for the year with an elbow injury, Georgia was able to muster enough offense Sunday despite the absence of outfielders Riley King and Connor Tate.
King has missed the past two games due to a sore knee, while Tate did not play after fouling a ball off the back of his leg Saturday.
“It’s a little bit mind-numbing when you look at it and ask yourself how are we going to get through it this weekend,” Stricklin said. “But the formula was right there. We had it to win this series. Friday was a disappointing game, we had it together to win the series and they get one more hit. I felt like we would play well today.”
Fingers are crossed that Tate (.346-10-33) and King (.265-6-30) will be back soon. After Tuesday’s big game at Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs host Ole Miss in the final regular-season SEC series starting Thursday at Foley Field.
“There’s nothing that is season-ending, they’re just really, really sore. Riley has trouble cutting, changing directions and Connor’s Achilles tendon swelled up. He got hit right above it, just a strange place to get hit with a pitch; it hit him square,” Stricklin said. “Those things just take some time to heal. We hope they’ll be available Tuesday, but I would say they’re both day to day.”
On Sunday, the Bulldogs were able to get by.
Georgia started quickly, getting a three-run homer from Garrett Blaylock in the first inning to put the Bulldogs up 3-0.
A solo home run by Chaney Rogers extended the margin to four, before the Gators tallied a run off of starter Jonathan Cannon to make it 4-1.
Georgia capped its scoring in the seventh, scoring on an error by the Gators, followed by an RBI single by Cole Tate to bring home Josh Stinson.
That would be plenty of offense for Cannon to pick up his third win, although the sophomore had to grind his way through the Gator lineup to do so.
Cannon allowed six hits and walked four batters in 5.1 innings, before six relievers combined to Florida to two hits the rest of the way.
The group included Collin Caldwell, Michael Polk, Will Pearson, Like Wagner and Ben Harris, who closed out the game by retiring the Gators in order in the ninth.
“Jonathan Cannon gave us a quality start and that was really good to see. He’s been scuffling a little bit the past couple of weekends but came big today and almost got us through six,” Stricklin said. “After that, we just pieced it together. It was a really good team win.”
The Bulldogs likely need more.
Although Georgia’s conference marks assure the Bulldogs will qualify next week’s SEC tournament in Hoover, a poor final week could make it sketchy getting into the SEC Tournament.
Stricklin would prefer his Bulldogs end strong.
“I’ve just got done saying to the team, we’ve got to win this week. If we go 3-1 this week, we win the week and we’re a post-season team. Bottom line, Tuesday is a huge game. Georgia Tech’s RPI is really good and most likely will be a postseason team, so getting a road win would be really huge,” he said. “Then Ole Miss, I hope it’s a sold-out, raucous crowd. I hope our fans come out and really give us a great atmosphere.”
