Ryan Black hits walk-off homer to lift Georgia past FGCU
Georgia headed into the ninth inning needing a miracle, having not led all afternoon against Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday. The Bulldogs were down one run as they trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the inning.
After Tre Phelps got on base via hit by pitch with one out, Ryan Black stepped to the plate with the potential to drive in the game-tying run. He did one better, connecting on a pitch and sending it soaring to right center field, where it was well over the outfielder’s glove for a home run to seal the Georgia victory, 4-3. You can view the play below.
The walk-off was the fourth this weekend for the Bulldogs, all of which came against the Eagles as Georgia swept the series. However, it was the first walk-off home run.
“Ryan works really hard at his game, and we have done a lot with him since he has been here,” UGA coach Wes Johnson said postgame. “He is able to turn on that ball, and I told Kevin (Knight) if they make a mistake with the cutter in the black, he is going to send it to the seats. He saw his pitch up and just hammered it.”
Black is in his first season with the Bulldogs after transferring from UT-Arlington. He has a .333 batting average thus far in eight games, and his home run Sunday was his third of the year already.
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Sunday’s game wasn’t the only one this series where Georgia needed a little magic at the end. The Bulldogs as fell behind early in the opening game after FGCU jumped out to a 5-0 advantage at the end of the first inning.
They rallied back in furious fashion to take a 9-7 lead by the end of the sixth. However, the Eagles would come back to tie things up at 9 heading into the bottom of the final inning. That’s when Georgia managed to load the bases before Steve Alford drove in the go-ahead run in a 10-9 win.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Bulldogs escaped with four wins this weekend and improved their record to 13-1 on the young season. Next up for Georgia is a contest against High Point that is set for 3 p.m. CT in Athens.