Photo by Sean Taylor
Bulldog Baseball junior right-hander David Sosebee had allowed just two home runs on the season entering Friday but designated hitter Dorian Hairston’s three-run shot in the third ignited the Wildcat offense. After pitching out of trouble in the first and second innings, Sosebee looked to be out of another jam in the third. However with two outs, Hairston’s blast proved to be enough for the Wildcats who improved to 27-21 overall, 12-12 in the SEC. Then in the fifth, the Wildcats got a solo home run from Ka’ai Tom to make it 4-2.
Georgia (22-26, 7-17 SEC) pushed across its first run in the fifth. Senior Jared Walsh (3-for-4) led off with a double and scored on a one-out RBI-single by freshman Mitchell Webb. Sophomore Skyler Weber collected his third home run of the year when he led off the sixth with a solo shot. Kentucky pushed its lead to 6-2 with a two-out, two-run double from Kyle Barrett (4-for-5). Sosebee got the loss to fall to 3-3, after allowing six runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings with three walks and seven strikeouts.
Kentucky right-hander Zack Brown went 6.1 innings for the win to even his record to 5-5. Logan Salow and Zach Strecker combined to pitch 2.2 scoreless innings with Strecker notching his first save.
Georgia loaded the bases in the seventh and eighth innings with one out and bounced in to double plays to end each threat A bright spot for the Bulldogs was the relief pitching of senior Taylor Hicks and junior Mike Mancuso as they tossed 2.1 scoreless innings.
“We had our chances, got the bases loaded twice with 2-0 counts, and we didn’t get the big hit,” Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said. “They (UK) got the hits when they needed it, and that’s the difference. David (Sosebee) was never comfortable. He battled but too many times he had innings with runners in scoring position, and they eventually came through.”
“Trey Logan (2-for-4) and Mitchell Webb (1-for-3, RBI), a couple of freshmen, they played great for us tonight. We opted to go with Zack Bowers as the pinch-hitter for Webb there in the eighth because with one swing he can tie it up, but tonight it didn’t happen. It’s not from a lack of effort, all the guys are battling, it’s just that Kentucky got the big hits and then also made the plays defensively when we had our opportunities for a big inning.”
Game two of the series is scheduled for a 2:05 p.m. Saturday and be available on SEC Network+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network from IMG.