Sophomore reliever Blake Cairnes shined in five scoreless innings of work on Saturday, allowing only one hit and fanning four, but an early 3-0 hole cost Georgia (7-4) as the Bulldogs fell 3-1 to Wright State (6-5) on Saturday afternoon at Foley Field.
Freshman designated hitter Michael Curry gave the Bulldogs their lone run on the afternoon, coming through with a two-out RBI single in the sixth inning to bring the Bulldogs within two, though they were unable to draw even in the contest.
Senior Heath Holder got the starting nod on the mound, though he never quite got comfortable as he allowed three runs, two earned, in four innings of work while surrendering four walks and a wild pitch.
The Raiders struck first in Saturday’s tilt, using two walks and a sacrifice fly in the first inning to gain a 1-0 lead. They added on in the second, turning a single into a run with a bunt, a passed ball and a wild pitch to boost the edge to two.
Two innings later, the Raiders struck again after a two-on, no-out start to the inning as a one-out RBI single gave the visitors a 3-0 lead midway through the fourth. Wright State attempted a squeeze play with the next hitter, but Holder sniffed it out and prevented the run with some nice glove work.
The Bulldogs punched back in the sixth with a two-out rally, as Trevor Kieboom singled with the bases empty but came around to score two batters later on a Curry RBI single to cut into the Raider lead and make it 3-1 through six.
The Bulldogs then tried to mount a rally in the final frame with Daniel Nichols wearing a fastball to reach first as the leadoff hitter, however the next three batters were retired as Georgia fell 3-1.
Dawg Tracks
– Skyler Weber extended his hitting streak to six games with a single up the middle in the third inning.
– Weber caught Ryan Fucci trying to swipe second in the fifth inning, Fucci’s first CS of the season. He entered today’s action 8-for-8.
– Curry’s RBI single in the sixth boosted his year total to four.
– Blake Cairnes was strong in relief with a career-best five innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four without allowing a run.
– Wrenn extended his hitting streak to four games with a single to lead off the eighth inning.
Stricklin Says
Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On the team’s offensive performance…
“Overall I didn’t think we had a lot of great at-bats today. We hit a couple balls hard right at them, but for the most part they made all the defensive plays. Their middle of the infield turned three double plays on us. They did a great job playing defensively, making the routine plays. We didn’t put pressure on them. That’s unfortunate that we can have that many poor at-bats. We had a lot of poor at-bats with opportunities to do some damage, and we just didn’t do it.”
On the inning-ending double play in the third with bases loaded…
“Hindsight’s 20-20. I could say `Gosh, I wish he would’ve seen a pitch.’ He swung at the pitcher’s pitch. He’s looking for a pitch to drive. He thought he saw a ball up in the zone. The pitcher threw a two seam fastball that sunk a little bit. Trevor (Kieboom) tried to lift it, and the guy throws a two-seamer that sunk underneath his bat. We want our four-hole hitter to be aggressive with the bases loaded. I’m certainly not upset that he swung the bat. He just has to get a better pitch to swing at right there.”
On Blake Cairnes’ performance out of the bullpen…
“He was great. He gave us a chance to win. He put five zeros up on the board. It was 3-0 when he came into the game and he kept us there. He gave us a chance to win that game. That’s the only thing that you can ask of your bullpen, just try to keep it there. Hopefully our offense can pick it up, but we just didn’t do it today.”
Players’ Perspective
Sophomore P Blake Cairnes
On his performance…
“I was just feeling good. My stuff felt better as it went on. My slider command got better, and I was attacking. It just stinks for the team. I’d like to have seen us get that win, but we’ll come out here tomorrow and win the series.”
On how long he expected to stay in the game…
“We have a mentality of one inning at a time. I just went out there one inning at a time and my number kept getting called, so I just went out there and kept going.”
Freshman DH Michael Curry
On the team’s offensive performance…
“That’s the key, being consistent through the lineup. When everyone’s sticking with the approach, one through nine sticking with the approach, staying consistent and putting hits together to help our pitchers out. I thought Blake Cairnes did a great job today giving us an opportunity to win. We hit a lot of balls hard, just right to them. It’s tough. We just got beat.”
On the mentality of the team with some bad bounces offensively…
“That’s the thing, if we keep hitting (hard) it’ll fall our way eventually. As far as the game today, I thought we hit the ball well as a team. We just didn’t come up big in certain at-bats. (Wright State) made plays in the field, and they just played good baseball. They flat out beat us.”
Up Next
The rubber match between the Bulldogs and Raiders is scheduled to begin on Sunday at noon.
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