University of Georgia Athletics
No. 4 LSU Edges Georgia 4-3
April 03, 2010 | Baseball
BATON ROUGE, La. --- Fourth-ranked LSU edged Georgia 4-3 Friday at Alex Box Stadium, handing the Bulldogs their seventh one-run loss in the past 11 games.
LSU (22-3, 6-1 SEC) took a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI-groundout by designated hitter Matt Gaudet. It scored second baseman Tyler Hanover who led off the Tiger third with a base hit and went to third on a one-out single by catcher Micah Gibbs. LSU looked for more, loading the bases with two outs, but junior Justin Grimm got Austin Nola to bounce out to send it to the fourth. The Tigers had left seven men already at that point including leaving the bases loaded in the first. Grimm had matched his career-high with four walks through three frames and had hit two batters with two wild pitches but battled to give the Bulldogs 5.2 innings. When he was lifted, it was a 2-1 game. Meanwhile, Georgia made a couple of base-running mistakes in the early going that cost it potential runs. In one inning, the Bulldogs got a double and LSU made two errors and Georgia failed to score.
"We didn't play smart enough to win tonight and at some point we'll get over the hump but we're not there yet," said Georgia coach David Perno. "We made too many mental mistakes, just careless ones and that's frustrating. We had too many strikeouts."
The Bulldogs (9-16, 1-6 SEC) tied the game in the fourth when sophomore centerfielder Zach Cone (3-for-4, 2 RBI) smacked a leadoff home run off junior Anthony Ranaudo. It would be his last pitch as LSU turned to left-hander Chris Matulis. Ranaudo missed five weeks with an elbow injury and was on a pitch count. He threw two innings last week against Tennessee and gave the Tigers three innings Friday, allowing one run on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Cone's blast was his fifth of the year, extended his hitting streak to 15 games and a team-leading 25 RBI.
Grimm cruised through the fourth and fifth innings, retiring the Tigers in order before they scratched for a run in the sixth on a two-out single on an 0-2 pitch by third baseman Beau Didier. Centerfielder Leon Landry was hit by a 1-2 pitch to start the frame. Coming in tonight, Grimm had hit just three batters all season but hit three Tigers Friday. With the Tigers up 2-1, Georgia looked to sophomore Chase Hawkins. Didier moved to second on a balk by Hawkins. Then, pinch-hitter Johnny Dishon drew a walk, and Georgia lifted Hawkins in favor of senior Steve Esmonde. He kept it a 2-1 contest by retiring Hanover.
Matulis tossed 4.1 innings with six strikeouts for the victory to move his record to 5-0. He allowed just three hits, two runs and struck out six. Georgia sophomore Colby May led off the seventh with a drive to left off Matulis that Johnny Dishon jumped and caught at the base of the wall to keep the Tigers in front. LSU extended its lead to 4-1 in the seventh. With two outs and the bases loaded, Austin Nola blooped an 0-2 pitch from sophomore Cecil Tanner down the right field line for a two-run single. On the play, Mikie Mahtook tried to score but was thrown out at the plate.
In the eighth, Georgia made it a one-run game again, scoring two runs on two hits. Levi Hyams drove in a run on a groundout while Cone notched his third hit, an RBI-double off Paul Bertuccini. LSU brought in closer Matty Ott who set the Bulldogs down in order in the ninth for his 10th save. Grimm took the loss to fall to 2-3.
"Zach played outstanding tonight, and we need to get some other guys in the lineup going too," Perno added. "Justin battled and that's three straight SEC starts where he has given us a chance to win."
The series continues Saturday at 5 p.m. ET with FoxSportSouth televising the contest. Georgia will start senior right-hander Jeff Walters (0-2, 9.36 ERA) while the Tigers will go with junior right-hander Austin Ross (3-1, 4.54 ERA).
