Georgia's balance overcomes Liberty to move to brink of advancing
Georgia did what Georgia does to move to one win away from a Super Regional berth. The Diamond Dawgs won their second game on Saturday at Foley Field. Georgia held off Liberty 6-2 in game four of the Athens Regional.
The Bulldogs hit home runs, played good defense, and found a way for two pitchers to shape the day from a pitching currency standpoint.
The Bulldogs jumped on Liberty’s starting pitcher Bradley Zayac immediately. The top of the first inning was highlighted by Daniel Jackson’s two-run home run.
Liberty responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first. The middle portions of the game belonged to Georgia.
The record-setting lineup sent balls into the outskirts of the Foley Field property. In the top of the third inning, Kenny Ishikawa hit a ball that landed in the bushes on Kudzu Hill to give Georgia a 3-2 lead.
A pitch later, Ryan Wynn hit a 426-foot home run into the Foley Field parking lot. Three innings later, Rylan Lujo hit a solo home run to extend the lead to 5-2.
Brennan Hudson added to the solo home runs in the top of the ninth with his 20th of the season to push the Georgia lead to 6-2.
Georgia’s pitching holds up
Georgia’s pitching staff made that enough. Wes Johnson praised Georgia’s defense earlier in the day following this morning’s win over LIU and in the aftermath of their performance during the SEC Tournament in Hoover.
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“I think what it does is it gives guys like Joey (Volchko) and Dylan (Vigue) and all of our pitchers, Caden (Aoki) and Matt (Scott), Justin Byrd you have some comfort in attacking the strike zone, knowing that the ball gets put in play, that there’s a really good chance we’re gonna make the play behind you,” Johnson said this morning. “And so when you get that kind of energy flowing through your pitching staff and your defense, it really gives your pitchers a little more comfort.”
The Bulldogs needed that defense. Early on, starter Dylan Vigue pitched into traffic. Vigue only managed 2.2 innings of work. He walked three batters, allowed three hits and two runs, one unearned. He struck out one.
Georgia went to Matt Scott, a former starter at Stanford. He worked out of a jam in the third and went on to pitch the middle five innings for Georgia. Scott walked three, allowed one hit and struck out four Flames. Scott earned the win as well.
Justin Byrd came in to shut the door over the last 2.2 innings of the game. Byrd walked one, struck out three and allowed no hits.
What’s next?
Georgia will await the elimination game between Liberty and Boston College at noon on Sunday at Foley Field. Georgia will meet the winner of that game at 5 p.m. on Sunday evening. Liberty beat Boston College 4-3 on Friday to open the regional.
Should Georgia win that game, it would advance to the next round and host a super regional in Athens next weekend. If they lose, they will face a winner-take-all game on Monday at Foley Field.
