Georgia baseball looks to get back on track after losing at unranked Tennessee in uncharacteristic fashion on Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The No. 2-ranked Bulldogs (28-7, 9-4 SEC) play the Vols (25-10 5-8) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in a game that can be seen on SEC Network-plus and WatchESPN app.
Georgia remains a half game up on LSU and Arkansas atop the SEC. The Bayou Bengals start a weekend slate at Missouri on Friday night while the Razorbacks travel to play Vanderbilt.
Sophomore C.J. Smith (3-1, 2.51 ERA) is expected to be in the circle for the Bulldogs tonight against the Vols, who lead the nation with seven shutouts this season.
Georgia out-hit Tennessee 11-5 on Friday night, but the Bulldogs were awful when it mattered most. Georgia stranded 11 baserunners and were an eye-popping 0-for-10 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
The Vols scored two runs on an infield single that the right side of the Georgia infield misplayed, and that pitcher Emerson Hancock compounded by being late to cover first base.
“It was a crazy way to lose on an infield single that scored two runs,” UGA coach Scott Stricklin said. “We had great at bats early. We had a lot of chances, lot of traffic on the bases early, but you have to give them credit, they made some pitches and got some big strikeouts.
“We got guys in scoring position and then we kind of broke down.”
Georgia baseball worth noting
• Hancock fanned nine batters and didn’t walk any, falling to 6-2.
• Hancock is 0-2 with a no decision in his past three outings despite allowing a total of four runs in those games.
• Aaron Schunk extended his hitting streak to five games, going 3-for-4 for his 15thmulti-hit game of the season.
• LJ Talley extended his hitting streak to six games with a leadoff single in the eighth inning.
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