Everything was going great for Georgia against No. 6 Arkansas on Thursday night. Then, the seventh inning happened.
Entering the top of the seventh with a 4-2 lead, the No. 13-ranked Bulldogs gave up 6 runs in the inning, including one thanks to a wild pitch and another courtesy of a passed ball. Georgia was able to retrieve a run in the bottom half of the inning and another in the eighth, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs lost to visiting Arkansas 8-6.
This was the first game of Georgia’s final SEC series of the regular season.
The loss could prove to be damaging for Georgia’s chances to secure a top 8 national seed, and thus host a potential regional and Super Regional. The loss also doesn’t help Georgia’s chances of securing a top 4 seed, which would mean a bye in the SEC Tournament next week. Georgia entered the game just one game behind the Razorbacks in the SEC standings, tied with Ole Miss for third and one game ahead of South Carolina.
Ole Miss won and is taking on Alabama, the worst team in the SEC. South Carolina lost to Texas A&M, meaning Georgia is alone in fourth place with just two games to play.
Three who mattered
Cam Shepherd: The sophomore homered for Georgia and also drove in a run in the seventh.
Adam Sasser: The junior first baseman gave Georgia the lead with a home run in the fourth inning.
Chase Adkins: The senior pitched well enough to give Georgia a lead, as he gave up just 2 runs in 5.0 innings pitched while striking out 4.
Worth mentioning
The loss now drops Georgia to 16-12 in SEC play and 35-17 overall. Arkansas, meanwhile, improved to 18-10 in conference play and 37-15 on the season. The Arkansas win clinched a bye in the SEC Tournament for the Razorbacks.
Georgia baseball Box score
What’s next?
Georgia hosts Arkansas on Friday at 3 p.m.