ATHENS -- At the start of each week throughout the regular season, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will take a closer look at the Georgia baseball team. Here’s a breakdown of the Bulldogs going into the eighth week of the campaign:
Record: 24-8, 5-7 SEC
Streak: Lost 1
Rankings: No. 24
Last Week (2-2)
Tuesday: Defeated Georgia State 10-1
Friday: Lost at Mississippi State 6-1
Saturday: Won at Miss. State 3-2
Sunday: Lost at Miss. State 9-8
This Week
Tuesday: vs. Kennesaw State (17-13, 7-5)
Thursday: vs. Missouri (15-18, 4-8 SEC), 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Friday: vs. Missouri, 6 p.m.
Saturday: vs. Missouri, 3:30 p.m.
Week in review
Lots of drama. There is no other way to describe the Bulldogs weekend at Mississippi State.
In the end, Georgia dropped two of three to the Maroon Bulldogs in Starkville. But that was hardly the story. That was the craziness that ensued Saturday night, when 11 players between the two teams were ejected in the top of the eighth inning.
The controversy started when Georgia’s Dylan Carter was thrown out at home plate to end the Bulldogs’ half. But State catcher Johnny Long, taunted and used his shin guards to kick Carter as he lay on the ground after a head-first slide.
Long was rightfully ejected from the game. But the other players who were removed was due to the SEC rule for leaving the bench and entering the field of play. Three Georgia players and two for State subsequently were suspended for the following game, per conference bylaws.
Since two of those were UGA catchers, the Bulldogs were allowed to stagger the suspensions of Fernando Gonzalez and Henry Hunter. Gonzalez will sit out Tuesday’s game. Daniel Padysak also missed Sunday’s game.
Georgia came back to win Saturday’s game on Clayton Chadwick’s ninth-inning home run and 4.1 scoreless innings of relief by Brian Zeldin. Playing shorthanded early-afternoon Sunday after a late-night game, neither team played particularly well in rubber. State plated four unearned runs in a 9-8 come-from behind victory.
Week ahead
It’s good to be home. That certainly is the feeling inside the Bulldogs’ clubhouse after spending the last two weekends on the SEC road.
Georgia starts an 8-game home stand that starts Tuesday against Kennesaw State and includes back-to-back SEC weekends against Missouri and Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are 19-1 at Foley Field this season.
However, Missouri arrives hot. The Tigers are coming in off shocking sweep of No. 4 Florida in Columbia.
They said it
“I don’t know if they beat us as much as we gave it to them with a lot of miscues. We have to clean that up. We’ve got to get that heartbeat back down when you’re in a environment like this, and we’ll get back home and work on it.” – Georgia coach Wes Johnson
