No. 10 Vols Claim Series Over Bulldogs

Sunday, March 21

Athens, Ga.

1:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

14-5, 1-2

Tennessee

17-4, 2-1

Tennessee

Georgia

March 21, 2021 | Baseball

Box Score Game19

ATHENS----Tenth-ranked Tennessee posted a 4-1 win over seventh-ranked Georgia Sunday to claim the rubber game of a Southeastern Conference series at Foley Field.

The Volunteers (16-4, 1-1 SEC) got 7.1 innings from freshman Blade Tidwell in his SEC debut to improve to 3-1. He allowed one run on four hits with six strikeouts.

UT took a 1-0 lead in the first, loading the bases on three singles and then Jordan Beck collected an RBI on a fielder's choice on a diving stop by third baseman Parks Harber. It was the first career run allowed by Jonathan Cannon who had pitched 18 scoreless innings dating back to 2020. UT put two runners in scoring position with two outs in the second and Cannon came back to strike out designated hitter Pete Derkay. With a runner at third and two outs in the fourth, Cannon was lifted in favor of freshman Jaden Woods. Cannon (1-1) was making just his third appearance of the season and was on a pitch count that had reached 75. The Vols added a pair of runs on a wild pitch an RBI-single to extend their lead to 3-0.

Bulldog junior Ben Anderson lined a leadoff triple in the sixth and scored on a groundout by Cole Tate to trim the deficit to 3-1. With one on and one out eighth, UT Tidwell and turned it over the bullpen. Kirby Connell got one out and Camden Sewell took care of the rest for his first save. UT added a run in the ninth for the final.

The Bulldogs were without Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin all weekend after it was announced Friday he had tested positive for COVID-19. Also, Georgia's lineup the past two games was missing its leading run producer in freshman Corey Collins as he pulled a hamstring on a single in the fourth inning of Friday's contest. For the year, Collins is batting .368 with four home runs and 16 RBI.

Georgia (14-5, 1-2 SEC) welcomes Kennesaw State to Foley Field Tuesday. First pitch is slated for 5:02 p.m. The game will be available on SEC Network+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

Georgia's Acting Head Coach Scott Daeley
On Jonathan Cannon's outing...
"The stuff was good. For whatever reason, the location was off a little bit. All those fastballs were up and gave them a chance to get hit. He came out with only one run on the board. For as much as it appeared like he struggled and had guys on base, he did a great job limiting damage. Unfortunately, we had those two runs score after he left. He did a great job limiting things. We are in pretty good shape if that is a bad appearance from him."

Jonathan Cannon, RHP, So.
On his outing
"I really didn't do myself any favors today. I threw way too many balls and just couldn't get ahead of hitters. That's something I am going to need to work on this week, but it really just turned into a grind outing. I knew with runners on base I was going to have to make big pitches and I was able to get out of a couple of jams. Overall, I felt fine, overall I just didn't have the outing I was looking to have."

Ben Anderson, CF, Jr.
On UT Starter Blade Tidwell
"He obviously threw it well so tip your cap. We could have had some better at bats and better swings. But overall, tip your cap."

POSTGAME VIDEOS

Coach Daeley