The Georgia baseball was unable to catch lightning in a bottle twice in a row, as the Bulldogs dropped game two of their weekend series with Kentucky 7-4 on Saturday evening in Lexington.
The Wildcats (32-15, 15-8 SEC) jumped ahead 4-0 in the third inning. The first run scored on a bases-loaded passed ball, and the big hit was delivered by catcher Troy Squires, a two-out, three-run double. In the fourth, the Wildcats added a run for a 5-0 advantage before the Bulldogs got on the board.
Junior third baseman Mitchell Webb notched Georgia’s first hit when he led off the fifth with his third home run of the year. Trailing 6-1 with two outs in the seventh, freshman Tucker Maxwell made it a two-run game when he blasted a three-run home run, his fifth of the year. Squires collected his fourth RBI of the night with a two-out, run-scoring double in the seventh.
Kentucky junior left-hander Zach Logue and freshman left-hander Zack Thompson combined to tally 16 strikeouts, a season-high by the Bulldog hitters. Logue went 6.2 innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts for the win and improved his record to 6-4. Thompson pitched the final 2.1 innings with five strikeouts for his first career save.
The Bulldogs dropped to 18-29 overall and 6-17 SEC. Junior Chase Adkins saw his record fall to 5-6, surrendering six runs on eight hits in five innings. A bright spot for the Bulldogs was a solid relief effort from freshman Tony Locey as he took care of the final three frames with four strikeouts.
CLICK HERE for the final stats and box score from game two of the Georgia-Kentucky series.
Kentucky ties up the series 1-all with the win, and the rubber game of the series will be Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Sunday’s game will be available on SEC Network+ and the Bulldogs Sports Network from IMG.
Dawg Tracks
Georgia hit a pair of home runs, a solo shot from junior Mitchell Webb and a three-run blast by freshman Tucker Maxwell.
Freshman Tucker Bradley extended his hitting streak to a career-high seven games and finished 1-for-3 with a walk.
Freshman Tony Locey tied his career high as a reliever with four strikeouts over the final three innings.
Coach’s Corner: Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
“Kentucky has a really good lineup and they know how to play the game, and they are very experienced. There was two outs in the third and Chase Adkins was battling and (Troy) Squires had the big blow with a three-run double. We were down 5-0 and Mitchell Webb gave us a lift with the home run and then Tucker Maxwell had a great at bat and ended up with a three-run home run to get it to 6-4. Overall, Kentucky’s two guys threw a ton of strikes, made the pitches and were able to hold the lead and finish the game. Still, we have a chance to win a road series over a top five opponent, and we’ll have to play well Sunday. We haven’t decided yet on who will start on the mound.”