The Georgia Bulldogs had a three-game win streak snapped at the hands of the Missouri Tigers on Friday evening in the opening contest of a three-game weekend series. The Tigers won 6-4 behind a one-hit outing from starting pitcher Seth Halvorsen. Georgia dropped to 24-13 (7-9) with the loss, putting them in a difficult spot to win the series.

“It’s pretty tough to hit a guy that’s 95-to-97 and erratic,” said Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin in a press release. “He’s got really good stuff. He might be the best arm in the league. He really competed and was very good. We got the tying run on the on deck circle, and we started the ninth down five runs. That gave us a little bit of life. It just goes to show every single run is important, and we just didn’t have enough good at bats. We didn’t swing the bats very well today, but we had guys in scoring position because we drew a lot of walks. Bottom line, we didn’t play very well and we got to turn the page and get ready to even it up tomorrow.”

Georgia’s hot offense that had scored at least eight runs in its last three games was nowhere to be found in Columbia. It took the Bulldogs five innings to get their first hit, which was a single from Fernando Gonzalez. That ended up being one of only three hits in the game for UGA, which plated the only run of the game as well. Garrett Blaylock scored from third.

Ryan Webb received the loss for Georgia, sending his record to 2-3 on the season. Webb did not struggle too badly with his command but gave up a pair of two-run home runs to left field. It seems like Webb just has not reached his full potential yet this season, as a couple of bad pitches once again sabotaged an otherwise decent start.

Webb pitched six innings, giving up five hits, four walks, and struck out seven batters. However, he was outdueled by Halvorsen on the other side. Halvorsen pitched seven innings, while only giving up one hit in 114 pitches.

Georgia at least started to be more patient at the plate, as the Bulldogs drew seven walks in the game. Unfortunately, the three runs that came for Georgia in the ninth inning were too late. Josh McAllister hit a three-run home run to left field after Riley King walked and Ben Anderson singled.

Now the Bulldogs will have to again win back-to-back games to win this series. It happened last weekend against Kentucky, and the Bulldogs will follow the same blueprint with Jonathan Cannon as the Saturday starter. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. but could be affected by weather in Columbia.