No. 11 Georgia defeated Oakland in blowout fashion in all three games to start the series, leaving minimal expectations that the Golden Grizzlies would show much fight in Sunday’s series finale. However, Oakland’s success at the plate early and quality pitching throughout made for the tightest game of the series by far.
The visitors saw Georgia pitcher Dylan Vigue well early, seeing its first two batters in both the first and second innings record a hit. With two base runners on with no outs in both frames, Oakland scored its leadoff hitter both times, taking a 2-0 lead and recording four hits before Vigue logged his first strikeout.
Vigue stopped the bleeding in the top of the third, retiring the side and finding his rhythm, prompting the Georgia offense to follow suit. With two outs in the bottom of the third, third baseman Tre Phelps and catcher Daniel Jackson hit back-to-back home runs, both down the left field line and narrowly in fair territory, to swing momentum and take a 3-2 lead.
Phelps’ homer was his fifth of the year and extended his hit streak to 26 games, while Jackson’s was ninth of the year, the team lead, and his fourth of the four-game series.
Oakland’s offense was not done battling, however, as it saw more leadoff success by opening the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings with a base knock. None of those opportunities led to the tying run. Four new pitchers entered for Georgia to strand five total Oakland base runners across the four frames and keep the rallying Golden Grizzlies off the board.
Ben Green pitched 5.0 innings for Oakland, with his efforts holding the Georgia offense far below its average output of nearly 15 runs through the first three games of the series. Green struck out four batters while allowing six hits and three earned runs in the outing.
“I knew he matched up against us well,” Georgia head coach Wes Johnson said of Green. “But to see two of your veterans… Phelps and Daniel [Jackson] going back-to-back, that’s what this lineup can do at times.”
During the stretch in which Georgia shut down opportunities for Oakland to score, it did miss a chance of its own.
Owen Thomson entered in the bottom of the sixth for Oakland, as he and Green combined to allow two walks and a hit by pitch. With one out, Thomson struck out Rylan Lujo, then Andrew Landis entered and struck out Ryan Wynn, keeping the deficit at just one and stranding the loaded bases.
Georgia finally ended the scoring drought in the bottom of the seventh. Right fielder Henry Allen, who entered the game tied for first in team batting average, singled, scoring Jackson to double the Bulldogs’ lead.
Right-hander Justin Byrd, who had already pitched 1.1 innings, was left in the game for the top of the ninth. Byrd plunked a batter and allowed a single, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate, as Oakland’s Aidan Schuck hit a hard ground ball that Phelps could not field cleanly, scoring one to cut the deficit to 4-3.
A groundout left the Golden Grizzlies down to their final out with two runners in scoring position. With shortstop Kyle Revere just one hit away from an improbable upset, Byrd forced a fly out to center field, capping the narrow 4-3 victory.
Oakland ended the day with six total leadoff singles, but the Bulldogs’ ability to get out of jams and take care of ground balls was a deciding factor in the win. The Golden Grizzlies outhit the Bulldogs 12-8, and the game was also the only one of the series to go the full nine innings, as Georgia had run-ruled Oakland, shortening the game to seven innings in the previous three contests.
While the win was the least comfortable of the series for Georgia, shortstop Kolby Branch viewed it as a positive, giving the team an opportunity to come through in a tight game with tougher opponents coming soon on the schedule.
“It’s good for the team to go through adversity and come out on top,” Branch said. “You got a play a close one. You don’t want to, but we run-ruled them three times. Those teams are [often] looking for one win, just to knock off the big dog.”
The sweep improved Georgia’s record to 10-2, with just six games left until SEC play begins. The Bulldogs will face Kennesaw State next on the road Tuesday, followed by one contest with Western Carolina and four with Queens in the upcoming week.