Georgia Baseball secures spot in SEC Tournament with win over LSU
Georgia Baseball had its back against a wall on Saturday, but the Bulldogs will live to see another day. Needing a win to extend its season, Georgia took down No. 5 LSU 9-5 on Senior Day at Foley Field to clinch its spot in next week’s SEC Baseball Tournament.
“Play one more day,” Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin said. “We get a chance to play on Tuesday. You win that then you get two more. This team is more than capable of making a run. I think they know that. We all know that. You just have to finish games. You go out Tuesday, and we just have to play really good baseball. I know these kids will fight.”
“Today we knew that we controlled our own destiny, as far as getting to play another day,” Georgia first baseman Charlie Condon added. “We win. We take care of business. We get to play on Tuesday now, and that is big time.”
The Bulldogs trailed 2-0 after a first inning home run from Tre’ Morgan that scored LSU’s likely SEC Player of the Year Dylan Crews. However, putting up runs in each of the next three innings, they were able to take their own lead.
Fernando Gonzalez picked up an RBI single after Parks Harber and Will David reached base to lead off the inning. That made it a one-run game. Then, with two away, Dwight Allen reached on an error, allowing David to cross home and tie the game up.
Sixth-year senior Connor Tate gave Georgia its first lead of the game in the third inning with a solo home run. Tate’s 16th of the year was the 100th on the season for the Bulldogs. The 2009 team holds the school record with 109. That came in 62 total games. So far, this year’s Bulldogs have only suited up 55 times.
One inning later, the ball was leaving the ballpark once again. After a one-out sacrifice fly scored Sebastian Murrillo to make it 4-2, Condon hit his 25th of the year to put Georgia in front 6-2.
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Condon, who already holds the SEC single-season freshman record, has now hit a home run in all 10 SEC series. He’s two shy of tying the NCAA freshman record.
LSU fought back in the sixth with two of their own on another Tiger home run before a bases loaded walk scored Ben Anderson in his final home game. Anderson would add a second RBI with a double in the seventh that added to the Georgia lead after a Tommy White home run for the Tigers and a fielder’s choice by Allen scored Josh Tate.
On the mound, Liam Sullivan picked up the win, his fifth of the season, allowing just three hits in 23 batters faced. While Sullivan did walk four, he struck out five in 5.1 innings of work.
Luke Wagner, Leighton Finley, Kolten Smith, Chandler Marsh, Collin Caldwell and Nolan Crisp all provided at least 0.1 inning out of the bullpen. Caldwell and Crisp each retired the only batter they faced in the top half of the ninth inning with the bases loaded.
Based on the result of Missouri-Auburn on The Plains, Georgia (29-26, 11-19 SEC) will enter the SEC Tournament next week in Hoover as the No. 11 seed. The Bulldogs will take on the No. 6 seed – either South Carolina or Auburn – on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. ET on SEC Network in a single elimination outing.
