UGA avoids sweep against Georgia Tech

There will be no sweep this year.

Trying for the first time in school history to defeat Georgia in the big four sports of football, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball, Georgia Tech instead saw Lyle Allen's RBI single in the ninth give the Bulldogs a 7-5 win in baseball on Tuesday night at Turner Field.

"Somebody texted me that [about the possibility] this morning," Georgia's Rich Poythress said. "There's a lot of pride in the rivalry."

The win saved some of that pride this season for the Bulldogs. Tech defeated Georgia 45-42 in football, 57-42 in women's basketball, 67-62 in men's basketball, and 10-6 in baseball this season, and needed only a win Tuesday to earn a sweep in the big four.

But Poythress hit a 395-foot double to the 400-foot portion of centerfield with one out in the ninth off of reliever Zach Brewster. Tech intentionally walked Bryce Massanari, who hit a two-run homer in the third.

But the move backfired when Allen, who had an RBI single in the first, hit a single up the middle to score Poythress.

"I wanted to go after Lyle," Brewster (1-3) said. "But he hit the ball right back up the middle. I heard it buzz right by my head, I just couldn't put a glove on it."

Pinch-runner Peter Verdin scored when the throw to third got away from Matt Skole to give Georgia the final score. Allen advanced to third on the play.

Georgia now leads the overall series 196-149-2. It dates to April 21, 1898. Georgia is 6-1 against Tech in games at Turner Field.

Georgia Tech (33-13-1) now turns its attention to an important three-game regular season-ending series against Duke in Durham, N.C that starts Thursday. A sweep by the Jackets would give them the top seed in next week's ACC tournament, also in Durham.

Georgia (35-17) will visit South Carolina in a three-game series. The Bulldogs have clinched a berth in next week's SEC tournament in Hoover, Ala.

Dean Weaver (3-2) picked up the win for Georgia. The paid attendance of 24,665 is the sixth-highest attendance total for a regular-season college baseball game in NCAA history.