A loss to the mid-major Jacksonville State University Gamecocks left the Dawgs with a bad taste in their mouth yesterday evening. The Gamecocks definitely earned that win, according to head coach Scott Stricklin, but he still felt that his team left some on the table. Now, offensively, he felt confident in his team’s abilities, and it showed on the field with the team coming back from a 4-0 deficit to eventually be tied at 5 all. At the end of the day it was pitching that really set the Dawgs back. In his post-game interview, Stricklin constantly emphasized the impact of the “free passes” his pitchers were giving the opposition. 

Starting pitcher. Jaden Woods’, put on a lackluster performance, walking 8, and hitting 5 which gave the Gamecocks more opportunities to score. Opportunities that they capitalized on. With some help from the wind, JSU found themselves hitting 3 different homeruns, with 2 of them having 2 runners score. Woods’ play wound up putting the Dawgs in a hole, but the offense was able to make do, eventually tying it by the 7th inning.

With momentum rolling and the end of the game nearing, it really felt like the Dawgs had managed their poor pitching situation and were looking to close out strong, but there it came again. Two scores in the 9th inning came off of a hit-by-pitch and a walk – those “free passes” yet again. 

To Georgia’s credit, Ben Anderson and Corey Collins both scored homers, and Parks Harber managed to score twice. The pitching was just shaky. 

It’s just one game out of the series, though. Stricklin hopes that starting pitcher, Liam Sullivan will need to put on a good show today to set a good tone moving forward. When it comes to consistent pitching, Stricklin made sure to let us know that it’s more about execution than effort, and he hopes to see that execution moving forward.