Vanderbilt tops Georgia 3-1 to take first game of series
Georgia saw it’s short three-game win streak, all against ranked teams, snapped in game one of its three-game set with Vanderbilt. The Commodores took down the fifth-ranked Bulldogs 3-1 behind a dominant outing from left-handed starting pitcher JD Thompson.
He went eight innings, striking out 14 Georgia batters and scattering five innings. He threw 120 pitches to get the win while Brian Curley was the hard-luck loser, giving up just two runs over six innings of work. Curley gave up just three hits and it was the last two that hurt the most as both crossed the plate.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick start as third baseman Slate Alford pounded a solo home run to start the game. But that’s all the Bulldogs would get. Georgia went on to get the leadoff man on in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings but was only able to move a runner to second base once. That came in the sixth inning when Alford led off the inning with a single. That was followed by a single from Kolby Branch to put runners at first and second with no outs.
Trey King came on to pinch hit for Christian Adams as Wes Johnson called for a sacrifice bunt. King put down a bunt that was too firm and fielded by the Thompson, who cut down the lead runner at third. The next two Georgia hitters, Ryland Zaborowski and Nolan McCarthy, both struck out to end the threat.
That helped Vanderbilt grab a little momentum but it didn’t pay off right away. Curley got through the bottom of the sixth without much trouble but he ran into it quickly in the seventh. Cleanup hitter Brodie Johnston crushed the first pitch of the inning over the left-field wall to tie the game at one.
Peach State native Rustan Rigdon followed with a single to knock Curley out of the game. Tyler McLoughlin came on in relief and didn’t record and out. Rigdon stole second on a slider in the dirt on McLoughlin’s first pitch. He eventually hit Braden Holcomb with a pitch, putting runners on first and second with no outs.
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Colin Barczi followed by showing bunt but pulling back and slashing a hard ground ball at Zaborowski, who was charging from first. The ball got away, allowing the go-ahead run to score but Holcomb was cut down trying to take third. Georgia got out of the inning without further damage.
Thompson came out for the top of the eighth and sat the Bulldogs down in order, earning his 13th and 14th strikeouts. Eric Hammond, who got the Bulldogs out of the seventh-inning jam, hit a wall in the eighth. The Georgia reliever gave up a single, walked a batter, and then a single up the middle was misplayed by Branch.
He fielded a ball up the middle and tried to flip it to second for the final out of the inning. The throw was off the mark, the ball got away, and Vanderbilt added a valuable insurance run.
Sawyer Hawks came on in relief of Thompson in the ninth and kept the momentum rolling. He sat Georgia down in order to seal the 3-1 win. Georgia calls to 10-6 in the SEC and 33-7 on the season. Game two of the series is set for Friday night at 7 p.m. ET. Kolton Smith will take the mound for the Bulldogs.
