The No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs snapped a five-game losing streak Friday, defeating the No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners 10-9 in Athens, Georgia.
In a conference as tough as the SEC, snapping a streak like the Dawgs’ five-game skid was important, especially to Slate Alford.
“It’s been a rough couple weeks, but that’s the game of baseball,” the third baseman said. “We know we have a lot of confidence in ourselves, and we’ve been playing good baseball. We’ll be fine.”
A game originally supposed to be around dinner time, the Dawg offense fed the trees a late lunch. Alford got the scoring going early, launching a ball over the left-field wall to give the Dawgs the lead.
The Sooners couldn’t cage the Georgia offense in the second inning, and starting pitcher Cade Crossland lost the zone.
Back-to-back walks to Devin Obee and Robbie Burnett, and hitting Henry Hunter with a pitch, loaded the bases for the Dawgs with one out for Kolby Branch. An RBI single from Branch drove Obee in and left the bases loaded for the guy who started the scoring.
On the first pitch of his at-bat, Alford drove the ball to left field for the second time, keeping it in play. A bases-clearing double drove in three runs for the Dawgs.
Kolten Smith went 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and not surrendering a hit until the fifth inning when the Sooner put its foot on the gas and never pushed the brakes.
After giving up his first hit of the game from Jason Walk, Smith hit Kyle Branch and allowed a single to Das Harris. Then, Drew Dickerson grounded into a double play, allowing Walk to score.
A Dawson Willis double to left field added a run for the Sooners before Smith hit his second batter of the inning in Trey Gambel.
Head coach Wes Johnson tapped DJ Radtke to get the final out of the fifth. The Florida native forced a flyout to center from Jaxon Willits to halt the Sooners’ momentum.
Alford was the final batter Crossland would see. A walk to the senior ended his outing, with a final line of four-plus innings pitched, three hits and seven earned runs.
Reid Hensley came in relief but was no match for Tre Phelps. After a walk to Ryland Zaborowski, Phelps hammered a ball over the left field fence, his seventh of the season.
Hensley’s appearance ended after facing the minimum, and Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson tapped Beau Sampson to take over the mound. Sampson forced back-to-back infield lineouts.
Radtke’s day was done after a walk to Harris, bringing his walk total to three. Junior Eric Hammond finished the inning with two runners on.
Willis came up big again in the sixth, driving home Branch and Harris on a double to left. Gambill struck out, leaving Willis stranded on third and cutting the Dawgs’ lead to four.
The top of the seventh had trouble brewing for the Dawgs, with Hammond hitting a batter and giving up a single before Jordan Stephens replaced him. A walk loaded the bases with no outs for the Sooners. A fielder’s choice drove in a run before Branch drove in another on a single to center.
Brian Zeldin relieved Hammond after a rough start to the inning, which resulted in two more runs for the Sooners. He forced a groundout before striking out Scott Mudler to end the inning.
Freshman Cade Brown gave the Georgia a little bit of cushion with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh, making the score 10-7.
“He’s a grinder and constantly wants to be in the cage,” Johnson said of Brown.
And that double was what the Dawgs needed to get this win. Oklahoma came knocking in the top of the eighth, but Zach Harris shut the Sooners’ offense down.
“Our hitters come out and fight each day, and as a pitch staff, we need to come out and fight for them,” Harris said. “Have their backs while they have ours.”
The rubber match will kick off at noon Saturday at Foley Field.
