The pressure may be off No. 1 seed Georgia in the SEC Tournament, but the Bulldogs aren’t slowing down.
With a 5-3 win vs. No. 8 seed Mississippi State in the quarterfinals Thursday, they advance to the semifinals and will play the winner of No. 5 seed Florida-No. 4 seed Alabama Saturday in Hoover.
“I tell people, I’ve obviously been a part of a lot of teams, this one loves to practice and compete… It’s really hard to tell these guys to come off the gas pedal, which is good,” Georgia coach Wes Johnson told SEC Network after the win. “We don’t want them to. We want to keep playing.”
Georgia, which has never won the SEC tournament, won the SEC regular season title this season for the first time since 2008. The Bulldogs don’t have much to prove this weekend – based on their resume entering the tournament, they seem likely to finish as a Top 8 national seed and host a regional for the third year in a row.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t want to win and keep things rolling.
The Bulldogs never trailed in the game, with a sacrifice fly by shortstop Kolby Branch scoring outfielder Kenny Ishikawa in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. In the fourth inning, first baseman Brennan Hudson hit a three-run home run to right field to give Georgia some breathing room, 4-1.
In the seventh inning, third baseman Tre Phelps took a pitch to the hand and looked to be in some pain, but he stayed in the game and headed to first base. He later scored as Ishikawa drew another walk, which gave Georgia a 5-2 lead. He went back up to bat in the eighth inning and registered a single.
Mississippi State got a run back with a solo shot by designated hitter Noah Sullivan, but couldn’t mount a comeback.
Georgia starter Joey Volchko got the win, giving up two earned runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out one in five innings. The Bulldogs only used two pitchers in the game, with Matt Scott giving up the one solo home run in four innings pitched, walking one and striking out three.
Defensively, the Bulldogs turned four double plays.
