University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Arkansas
No. 20 Arkansas Defeats Georgia Friday
May 15, 2015 | Baseball
Highlights from Friday night's action at Foley Field as the Georgia Bulldogs hosted the Arkansas Razorbacks.
May 15, 2015
ATHENS-----The 20th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks hit a pair of home runs and took advantage of a season-high six errors by Georgia to post a 9-0 win Friday at Foley Field.
The Bulldogs (26-27, 10-18 SEC) now need to win Saturday on the final day of the regular season or have Tennessee lose to clinch a spot in the SEC Tournament that begins Tuesday in Hoover, Ala. The Volunteers are playing host to Mississippi State, and Tennessee has won the first two games of that series. MSU (24-29, 8-21, SEC) has been eliminated from postseason.
Arkansas (32-20, 16-12 SEC) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run home run by Bobby Wernes. It was his fourth of the year and Joe Serrano was on after a leadoff single. In the top of the second inning, Arkansas extended its lead to 4-0 as first baseman Cullen Gassaway collected his third home run of the season and another Razorback crossed the plate on an error by shortstop Nick King. Bulldog junior left-hander Ryan Lawlor had allowed just three home runs all season before surrendering a pair on Friday. Meanwhile, King entered the game with an impressive .978 fielding percentage and only five errors on the year, but he made three on the night.
In the fourth, the Razorbacks made it 8-0, scoring four runs on three and another Bulldog miscue as Lawlor was lifted in favor of junior Sean McLaughlin. Lawlor surrendered six runs (four earned) on seven hits in three innings to fall to 5-7. It was plenty of support for Arkansas freshman right-hander Keaton McKinney who went seven scoreless innings to move his record to 6-1.
In game one of the series Thursday, it was Georgia that jumped on Arkansas early as the Razorbacks made four errors and saw the Bulldogs register a 10-1 win. On Friday, the teams switched roles.
"Baseball is a funny game as tonight it was a complete reversal from Thursday," Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said. "We didn't do anything well. We fell in an early hole and never got out of it, and it was a night to forget. Now, we have everything to play for on Saturday, and we've got Robert Tyler going on the mound."
Bulldog sophomore Stephen Wrenn went 2-for-3 with his 27th stolen base as the Bulldogs managed just five hits. Georgia got a solid outing from McLaughlin who provided a career-high six innings as a reliever. Dominic Taccolini pitched the final two innings for the Razorbacks.
The rubber game of the series will be Saturday at 1:05 p.m. and be available on SEC Network+ and on the Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network from IMG.
