[su_spacer size=”20″] Alabama defeated Georgia 5-2 Sunday to take an SEC series in front of a crowd of 3,303 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Alabama (18-16, 6-9 SEC) grabbed a 1-0 lead with two outs in the first on an inside-the-park home run by Mikey White. He hit a sinking line drive to center that Bulldog sophomore Stephen Wrenn dove for and missed, and it rolled to the wall. It was the first inside-the-park home run against Georgia since 2009 when Michael Stephens of Ohio State did it in the NCAA Tallahassee ( Fla.) Regional.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs (20-17, 6-9 SEC) tied the game in the third. Freshman Trey Logan led off with a base hit and scored on a two-out RBI-single by Wrenn. For Wrenn, the hit extended his on base streak to all 37 games this year. The Crimson Tide chased senior left-hander Jared Walsh in the third, sending nine to the plate and scoring four times to build a 5-1 advantage. Walsh left with the bases loaded and one out in favor of senior Taylor Hicks. Alabama pushed across the final three runs charged to Walsh in the frame on a balk, single and sacrifice fly. Hicks went 1.2 innings before the Bulldogs turned to junior David Sosebee, who blanked the Crimson Tide over the next three innings.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We can’t start a game much worse, getting picked off in the first and then misjudging a ball for an inside-the-park home run, and I was disappointed in our hitters today because they were not prepared to battle,” Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said. “It was right there for us to get back in the game, we’ve got 2^nd and 3^rd nobody out in the seventh and we strike out three times, twice looking. Overall, we had a good start to the week but disappointed in how we finished. I’m encouraged with how David Sosebee performed, however Jared Walsh is now fighting it a bit with his back. “
[su_spacer size=”40″] Alabama starter Geoffrey Bramblett pitched seven innings for a win to improve to 5-1. Walsh got the loss to fall to 3-1 after allowing five runs on four hits in 2.1 innings. A bright spot for the Bulldogs was Sosebee providing three scoreless innings and four strikeouts as he works back in to form after missing the last month with a back injury.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia had a chance to climb back in the contest in the seventh, loading the bases to start the frame as Brandon Stephens smacked a double, Keegan McGovern had a single and Trevor Kieboom was hit by a pitch. However, the Bulldogs mustered only a run on a balk as Logan, Nick King and Skyler Weber struck out. Bramblett finished with nine strikeouts and allowed two runs on six hits.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs continue their six-game road swing Tuesday at Georgia Tech (24-12). First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN3 and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Radio Network.