Cole Tate adds punch to Georgia lineup in 5-2 loss at No. 1-ranked Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Georgia star Cole Tate was right on time Thursday night, but the rest of the Bulldogs’ batting order simply couldn’t catch up to Tennessee pitching.

The No. 1-ranked Vols (44-6, 21-4 SEC) scored a 5-2 win over the No. 22-ranked Bulldogs (32-17, 13-12) on Thursday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

“We had every opportunity to win, it’s a really good team, we knew that coming in,” Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said.

“We went toe-to-toe with them and came up short, I hate losing but we still have two games left, and we need to try to get a win tomorrow.”

Georgia plays Tennessee in a 1 p.m. game on Friday that will be televised by the SEC Network.

There’s a chance Cole Tate will move up in the batting order from the No. 8 slot after he went 3-for-3 with a solo home run on Thursday night.

Cole Tate’s home run opened the Bulldogs’ scoring in the third inning on Thursday night, and he added an RBI double down the right-field line in the top of the eighth that kept Georgia within striking distance (4-2).

It was Cole Tate’s fourth game back since he missed 13 games on account of a stress fracture in his leg.

“I thought Nolan really competed for us, gave us a chance to win, it’s a tough team to score on, they don’t walk anybody,” UGA coach Scott Stricklin said Thursday night.

“Nolan gave us an opportunity to win, and we’re one swing away from tying it up in the eighth inning and just came up a little short.”