UGA Baseball: Offensive Struggles Lead to Loss

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UGA Baseball: Offensive Struggles Lead to Loss

Blakely Brown was one of the seven Bulldog pitchers to have a solid night on the mound

 
 
The UGA baseball team kept up with No. 4 Clemson Tigers for the most part, but a two-run home run in the first inning gave the Tigers enough to win the game, which ended with a score of 4-0.

 
 
Clemson took the lead in the top of the first when catcher Chris Williams hit a two-run home run off of starting pitcher Ryan Avidano. After that opening score, Neither team would find a way to score again until the Tigers added two insurance runs in the top of the 9th to extend their lead to 4. The Bulldogs pitchers made little to no mistakes throughout this game and this played a major role in keeping the game as close as it was.
 
 
Although it was a staff game for the Bulldogs, their pitching was overall outstanding. The Bulldogs used seven pitchers on the night and only surrendered three runs on five hits, two walks, and three batters hit by a pitch. The only disappointing stat from this team’s pitching performance is the five free bases that were given up from walks and hit batters, but holding the No.5 team in the country to only five hits and two runs is definitely encouraging.
 
 
Both teams struggled at the plate, but the Bulldogs inability to score runs or even get runners in scoring position led to the loss. The Bulldogs only had two runners reach second base on the night and only one runner reach third. They will have to have more offensive production if they hope to beat not only a good team but one of the best teams in the country.
 
 
The Bulldogs also have to do a better job of fielding the ball and not giving up free bases. The right side of the infield had two errors on the night, which both led to runs for the Tigers. First baseman Keegan McGovern started off the game with an error as he misjudged a pop out in foul territory and allowed it to drop. This allowed Tigers’ leadoff hitter Logan Davidson to see another pitch, which he hit to left field for a single. Davidson would later score in the inning on Williams home run.
 
 
The second error came in the ninth inning with two outs as a grounder was hit to second baseman LJ Talley. Talley would field the ball cleanly but was charged with an error on the throw to McGovern. McGovern seemed to have not properly placed his feet on the play and he could have been charged with his second error of the game. McGovern clearly went through some growing pains in this game and will need to improve on his defensive play at first if he hopes to continue to play there.
 
 
The Bulldogs continued to have troubles with getting things working on both sides of the ball as the pitching was outstanding but the hitting was lacking. They will need to find a way to have their hitting and pitching working well at the same time as they head back into SEC play.
 
 
The Bulldogs face the Missouri Tigers next in a three-game series, which starts on April 6th at 7:30 p.m. The first two games of the series will be played at Foley Field and the final game will be played in the Atlanta Braves new stadium, SunTrust Park. The game at SunTrust Park will take place on April 8th at 1:30 p.m.
 
 
 
 

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Michael Pope is a Journalism student in the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia, with an emphasis in sports. He enjoys covering all sports, especially basketball, football, and baseball.