Georgia pitcher Robert Tyler and came up one out short of a no-hitter as the Bulldogs (16-12, 3-5) coasted to a 7-1 victory over No. 21 Alabama (16-10, 5-3) on Friday at Foley Field.
Tyler (3-1) extended his hitless innings streak to 15.1 innings pitched before giving up a solo home run with two outs in the top of the ninth. The junior had a perfect game going through six innings before allowing a walk with one out in the frame. He finished his complete game with allowing one run on one hit with two walks and nine strikeouts in nine innings.
Trevor Kieboom scorched a two-run single in the third inning to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead and Nick King tacked on an RBI-double in the sixth to provide Tyler with more than enough offense to hold off the tide.
Georgia added four runs in the bottom of eighth inning to ice the game highlighted by Michael Curry’s two-RBI double. LJ Talley added a career-high three hits at the plate.
Alabama’s Jake Walters (2-3) was credited with the loss after allowing three runs (one earned) in six innings of work.
Dawg Tracks
– Robert Tyler’s streak of 15.1 hitless innings ended with two outs in the top of the ninth with a solo shot by Alabama. He had a perfect game through 6.1 innings and a no-hitter through 8.2 innings.
– Tyler had a stretch of 53 batters faced between hits, covering three games, until the home run in the ninth inning.
– Trevor Kieboom’s two-RBI single in the second inning was earned him his fourth multi-RBI game of the season and extended his career-high hitting streak to seven games.
– Curry’s eighth-inning single extended his own hit streak to a career-high six games.
– LJ Talley’s three hits gave the freshman a new career high.
Stricklin Says
Ike Cousins Head Baseball CoachScott Stricklin
On Tyler’s performance…
“We needed a big performance like that because our bullpen was a little bit short from last night’s long 13-inning game, we used a lot of pitchers last night so we needed Robert to give us some length in innings. We were hoping for six or seven and he gives us a complete game and almost gives us a no hitter. We’re excited for Robert and for our team.”
On the offense’s output…
“Trevor Kieboom had the big hit early with the bases loaded and two strikes. He had a great at bat to get those two runs. LJ Talley was great today, had three hits, and Nick King got a couple of hits and made some things happen. Daniel Nichols really helped our lineup.”
On responding to last night’s 13-inning loss…
“It was huge. Last night was really disappointing. It was tough to take, to have chances to win and to lose the way that we lost. That was a tough team loss…Today we played arguably our best game of the year and hopefully we can carry that momentum into tomorrow.”
Jr. RHP Robert Tyler
On what went right in the game…
“I felt good early. I’ve been struggling lately with fastball command, so just getting that early was huge for my confidence. I was getting quick outs too – that was big for me.”
On how he felt before the game…
“I was just going. I felt normal, felt good. I felt good coming in. I didn’t do anything different routine wise, so it just kind of worked out well for me this weekend.”
Fr. 2B LJ Talley
On Robert Tyler’s performance…
“He was unbelievable. He had everything working, and he was just throwing strikes. That’s pretty much all he needs to do is throw strikes. He’s untouchable, and you saw that tonight.”
On the team’s approach with the no-hitter late in the game…
<"You can't really think about that. We were just trying to stay calm. I looked up in the fifth inning and thought 'Oh man, this could happen.' Nobody tried to talk about it. We just let him settle down and do what he did. It about happened, but they got one."
Up Next
Georgia will take on Alabama in the final game of the series as the Bulldogs look to take the series at Foley Field on Saturday at noon.