Saturday Results From SEC Baseball

Saturday SEC Baseball
Posted: May 1, 2010 | Last updated: May 1, 2010 at 10:42 PM

BASEBALL RESULTS

Alabama 6, South Carolina 4
Florida 7, LSU 3
Auburn 8, Arkansas 7
Florida 8, LSU 5
Tennessee 8, Kentucky 6
Vanderbilt-Georgia (Suspended)

Morgan Pitches Tide Past Gamecocks, 6-4

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Alabama sophomore left-hander Adam Morgan pitched the Crimson Tide to a 6-4 win over No. 3 South Carolina to even the three-game Southeastern Conference series at Carolina Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Marietta, Ga., native pitched into the eighth inning and allowed four runs and eight hits with eight strikeouts and two walks for his first win since April 2. He left the game with one out in the eighth inning following Christian Walker’s two-run home run that closed the UA lead to 5-4. South Carolina (33-9, 15-5 SEC) took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on Parker Bangs two-run double down the left line that scored Whit Merrifield and Walker.

The lead was short-lived as Alabama scored five runs on six hits in the top of the second inning to take a 5-2 lead. The Crimson Tide had five straight one-out hits in the inning off USC starter Sam Dyson to take the lead. Senior third baseman Jake Smith reached on a one-out single to left and freshman right fielder Andrew Miller followed with a single to right. Senior catcher Cody Trotter followed with an RBI double off the wall in right-center to score Smith and cut the lead to 2-1. Senior Cal Tinsley, who started at second base for the injured Ross Wilson, singled to center to score Miller and tie the game at 2-2. Sophomore center fielder Taylor Dugas lined a single to left to score Trotter and give UA its first lead at 3-2.

The Tide played hit-and-run with sophomore left fielder Jon Kelton at the plate and his ground out to the pitcher put runners at second and third with two outs. Junior shortstop Josh Rutledge followed with a clutch two-out base hit to score Tinsley and Dugas and put Alabama in front 5-2.

"We tried to be really aggressive," Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said. "(Dyson) really attacks the strike zone. He is throwing a two-seamer at 92 to 94 (mph) and four-seamer at 95-96 (mph) and he got the slider up to 86 (mph). Our approach was to be aggressive, keep swinging and we had some good fortune too. We had some balls drop in.

"I thought (assistant coach) Dax (Norris) did a good job with them. I thought we had a really good game plan. We did what we had to do and that’s what you have to do against a good arm like Dyson."

The five-run inning not only lifted the Tide offense but it gave Morgan a boost as well and the left-hander was dominant over the next six innings. In addition to his eight strikeouts, he got a double play in the third inning and UA threw a runner out at home to preserve its three-run lead in the third inning. After Bangs’ two-run double in the first, Morgan (5-2) retired the next five hitters. He retired 12 of 13 batters he faced from the third through the seventh innings.South Carolina’s six left-hand hitters were a collective 0-for-14 in the loss.

"The number one thing for him was command," Gaspard said of Morgan’s performance on Saturday. "That’s where in his last two of three starts, his command had been shaky. Today he really commanded the fastball, the breaking ball and the change-up as well. He really kept them off balance and really cruised from the fourth through the seventh inning."

Dyson (4-3) shook off the five-run second inning and also pitched into the eighth inning for the Gamecocks. He allowed five runs and eight hits in 7 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts and one walk. He threw 129 pitches. South Carolina closed to within a run in the eighth inning when Jackie Bradley, Jr., drew a one-out walk and scored on Walker’s two-run home run to make the score 5-4. It was Walker’s fourth home run of the season.

Smith replaced Morgan on the mound and retired all five USC batters he faced with three strikeouts for his second save of the season. He also went 1-for-4 at the plate and scored one run in the five-run second inning as he extended his career long hitting streak to 14 games.

Alabama added an insurance run in the ninth inning to make the final 6-4. The Crimson Tide loaded the bases against USC reliever Michael Roth. Tinsley reached on a bunt single and Dugas reached on an error by Walker at first base. After a sacrifice bunt by Kelton put runners at second and third with one out, Roth intentionally walked Rutledge to load the bases. Jones greeted relief pitcher John Taylor with a deep fly ball to center field that scored Tinsley with a key insurance run as the Tide pushed its lead to 6-4.


No. 6 Florida Downs No. 9 LSU, 7-3

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Freshman Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) limited No. 9 LSU (32-11/11-8 SEC) to one run over eight innings and was supported by an offense that totaled 11 hits as No. 6 Florida (29-11/13-6 SEC) posted a 7-3 victory over the Tigers in Saturday’s regularly-scheduled game at McKethan Stadium. The teams will now complete Friday’s series opener, which was suspended with UF holding a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Randall (5-3) established a career high with seven strikeouts and scattered seven hits while working eight innings for the second time this year. The righty went the same distance during the rubber game at Tennessee on April 11 which the Gators won, 9-1. Senior Jeff Barfield (Perry, Ga.) pitched the ninth and allowed a two-run homer to junior Leon Landry (3-for-4) to finalize the four-run margin.

Sophomore Mikie Mahtook (2-for-4) launched Randall’s first pitch of the game into the left-field bleachers for his 11th homer. Sophomore Austin Nola (2-for-4) followed with a base-hit into left field before Randall rebounded to set down the next three Tigers.

In the bottom of the inning, freshman Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) (2-for-2, two walks) drew a leadoff walk but was erased at second base on a fielder’s choice by junior Bryson Smith (Watkinsville, Ga.). Sophomore Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) advanced Smith with a grounder but sophomore Chris Matulis (5-2) had freshman Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) (1-for-4) fly out to right field.

Landry opened the second with a single into center and stole second base, his 15th theft of the season. Randall pitched out of trouble by having freshman Alex Edward ground out before notching consecutive strikeouts of sophomore Grant Dozar and sophomore Tyler Hanover.

The Gators evened the score at 1-1 in the home part of the inning on a sacrifice fly by senior Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) (1-for-2, 2 RBI). Sophomore Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) raised his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games with a leadoff single and freshman Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) (2-for-4) sliced a one-out single into right field for runners on the corners. The elder Pigott then brought home his brother with his first sac fly of the campaign. Zunino swiped his seventh stolen base and junior Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) Zunino drew back-to-back walks to load the bases with two down. Matulis had Smith fly out to left field to keep the contest tied.

Senor Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) (2-for-4) came through with a clutch two-out single up the middle to score Daniel Pigott for a 2-1 Florida lead in the third. Matulis registered two outs and Pigott ripped a double just out of Dozar’s reach at third base.

Junior Micah Gibbs started the fourth with a walk and Landry collected his second hit with a single through the left side of the infield. Randall induced an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play from Edward to close the inning.

Florida tacked on two more runs in the fourth to build a 4-1 lead. Jonathan Pigott led off with a walk, Adams stroked a base-hit into left and Fontana legged out a bunt single to load the bases with none out. Matulis issued a walk to Smith to bring home Pigott for a 3-1 advantage. A fielder’s choice by Tucker forced Adams at the dish for the first out and Maddox had an RBI fielder’s choice to score Fontana for a three-run margin.

The Gators boosted their advantage to 7-1 with three runs, three hits and a pair of sacrifice flies in the fifth. den Dekker led off the inning with single and moved over on his team-leading 14th stolen base. Zunino stroked a single into shallow left for runners on the corners and Jonathan Pigott delivered his fourth double to bring in den Dekker for a 5-1 lead. Matulis (4.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 5 BB) was replaced by juniAlsup, who yielded a sacrifice fly to straightaway center field to drive in Zunino. Fontana followed with his first career sacrifice fly to score Pigott for a six-run lead. UF held an 11-9 edge in hits during the game and neither squad committed any errors.


Four Homers In Eight-Run Fifth Helps Auburn To 8-7 Win At No. 7

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Auburn blasted four home runs in an eight-run fifth inning, two coming off the bat of Hunter Morris, before hanging on for an 8-7 win over No. 7 Arkansas at Baum Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Slade Smith picked up his first career SEC win in relief as Auburn improved to 29-15, 11-9 SEC and evened the series with SEC West leading Arkansas (35-9, 14-6) with its first Saturday win at Baum Stadium since 2004.

Auburn, which came into the day as the top offense in the SEC with a .348 team batting average and a SEC-best 74 home runs, had to overcome an early three-run deficit before holding off the second-best offense in the SEC, which stranded the game-tying and game-winning runs in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth.

The win was just the fourth of the season for a visitor to Baum as Arkansas had a gaudy 26-3 home record coming into Saturday, having won 11 straight at home and 10 out of 11 against SEC opponents.

Smith threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk, striking out two after entering with Auburn down 3-0 after one inning to improve to 2-0 and pick up his first win since March 17.

"My main goal was just to keep us in the game," Smith said. "I knew our bats would get hot and they did."

Arkansas made quick work of Auburn starter Stephen Kohscheen as Brett Eibner hit his second three-run home run of the series in the bottom of the first, his 16th of the year and his ninth in SEC play, to give Arkansas the early 3-0 lead. Kohlscheen would last just the one inning, allowing two walks and a hit with a fourth hitter reaching base on a Morris error at first.

With neither team generating much offense for the next three innings, combining for just two hits from the second through fourth innings, Auburn took control of the game in the fifth with its first four-homer inning of the season to take an 8-3 lead. Morris led off with a line drive home run down the line in right before Ryan Jenkins hit a one-out, two-run line shot to left with Tony Caldwell aboard following his single. Dan Gamache then went back-to-back with Jenkins when he lined one into the bullpen in right, ending Arkansas starter Randall Fant’s (3-1) day after he had surrendered four runs on five hits.

The inning got even worse for Arkansas reliever Jeremy Heatley, who allowed four runs on three hits while only recording one out. After Heatley retired Justin Hargett, Justin Fradejas singled and Trent Mummey was hit by a pitch to put two on for Brian Fletcher. Fletcher, who had just one RBI in his last five games, drove them in with a double to the wall in left center before Morris crushed his 15th home of the season over the bullpen in right, ending Heatley’s very brief appearance with Auburn up, 8-3.

"It was a big inning for us. When you score all of your runs and get seven of your 10 hits in one inning, it is a big inning no matter how you look at it," Morris said. "The first at bat of the inning I was just looking to get on base. Their pitcher (Fant) had done a good job of getting ahead of us all day and working early in the count and keeping us off balance. I was thinking double out of the box but I was glad it got up an extra foot or so.

"The second at bat I didn’t have to think about it for very long. I pretty much knew it was gone."

Arkansas clawed back into the game with a single run in the sixth on a James McCann two-out RBI single to right to make it 8-4 and then scored twice more in the bottom of the seventh, knocking Smith from the game with two out and runners on first and second. Sean Ray faced just one hitter and allowed a RBI single to Andy Wilkins before Auburn closer Austin Hubbard was summoned from the pen. After uncorking two wild pitches, the second of which allowed the second run of the inning to score, he induced a weak grounder back to the mound to help AUp by two heading to the ninth, Hubbard had to face the teeth of the Arkansas lineup with the two through four spots due up. After a strike out to start the inning, Zack Cox reached first on an error by Justin Hargett on a ball back up the middle. Eibner followed with a single to left to put men on first and second. A Andy Wilkins single to center scored Cox and put runners on second and third as Fradejas’ throw to third, which narrowly missed nailing Eibner, allowed Wilkins to get to third.

Hubbard then induced a shallow fly off the bat of Monk Kreder, which kept Eibner at third, before striking out pinch hitter Tom Hauskey to nail down his fifth save of the season and 17th of his career.

"I love pitching and playing in front of an away crowd. You put them on the ropes. That was a lot of fun," Hubbard said. "(In the ninth) I was going to what I did the inning before and pound the bottom of the zone with my fastballs. Slade had been doing it the whole game up until then, so that was inspiring knowing that I could come in and do the same. I threw some more fastballs today and I got some ground balls and some pop ups that didn’t leave the yard."

Fradejas, who was 2-for-5, led off the game with a double to left to extend his hitting streak to 25 games but he was gunned down at home trying to score from third on Fletcher’s line out to left.


No. 6 Florida Clinches Series With 8-5 Win Over No. 9 LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the completion of Friday night’s series opener, No. 6 Florida (30-11/14-6 SEC) defeated No. 9 LSU (32-12/11-9 SEC), 8-5, on Saturday afternoon at McKethan Stadium. The victory, coupled with the Gators’ 7-3 triumph earlier today, secured the series over the defending national champions and moved UF within one game of the league lead behind No. 3 South Carolina (33-9/15-5 SEC). Sophomore Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) (7-2) threw five scoreless innings on Friday to set a career high with his seventh win.

UF opened the scoring in the first inning on an RBI single into right field by freshman Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) (2-for-4) off junior right-hander Anthony Ranaudo (2-2). Junior Bryson Smith (Watkinsville, Ga.) laced a one-out single into right field and sophomore Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) followed with a base-hit to give UF runners on the corners. Maddox lined a single that brought across Smith but Ranaudo worked out of further trouble by having freshman Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) (1-for-3, two runs) hit into an inning-ending double play.

Junior Micah Gibbs (2-for-4) and senior Matt Gaudet (2-for-4) began the second with back-to-back singles off Panteliodis. A fielder’s choice by junior Leon Landry (1-for-3, two RBI) erased Gaudet at second but left runners on first and third base. Panteliodis picked Landry off first and had freshman Alex Edward ground out to end the frame.

Junior Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) (1-for-3) cranked a three-run bomb to give Florida a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the inning. Freshman Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) (2-for-3, two runs) extended his hitting streak to five games with a one-out double and sophomore Tyler Thompson (Tequesta, Fla.) (3-for-3, three RBI) lined a single off Ranaudo’s leg for runners on the corners. Adams sent a 3-1 pitch from Ranaudo into the left-field bleachers for his seventh round-tripper of the season.

UF tacked on three runs with two down in the third to build a 7-0 lead. Ranaudo was replaced by sophomore righty Joey Bourgeois prior to UF’s at bat after allowing six hits and four runs in two innings. Maddox collected his second hit with a one-out single up the middle and Johnson drew a walk for a pair of runners aboard. After senior Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) popped up in the infield, Zunino sliced an RBI single to plate Maddox for the fifth run. Moments later, Thompson rifled a bases-clearing triple into the right-field corner to balloon the margin to seven runs.

Landry started the fifth with a sharp single into right field and moved into scoring position on a grounder by Edward. Sophomore Tyler Hanover advanced his teammate to third with a grounder before Panteliodis had sophomore Grant Dozar ground out to Adams to close the stanza.

In the bottom of the frame, Johnson led off with a single into center field and den Dekker legged out an infield hit. Zunino laid down a sacrifice bunt to push both runners into scoring position but then play was suspended at 9:40 p.m. with Thompson batting and a 2-1 count. Over five innings, Panteliodis allowed four singles and had a couple of strikeouts. The Gators held an 11-4 advantage in hits at the time the game was halted.

When play resumed at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, Thompson lofted a sacrifice fly off freshman Chris Cotton to score Johnson for an 8-0 lead.
Sophomore Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.) replaced Panteliodis on the hill and surrendered five-consecutive hits in the sixth before being taken out. The righty allowed leadoff double to sophomore Mikie Mahtook (2-for-5), sophomore Austin Nola poked a single into center and senior Blake Dean (2-for-5, two runs) smacked an RBI single through the right side to put the Tigers on the board. Gibbs narrowed the gap to 8-2 with another base-hit up the middle and Gaudet doubled to right field to drive in Dean and chase Larson. Sophomore Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) had Landry ground out, scoring Gibbs with the fourth run. Edward drew a walk for runners on the corners and Maronde plunked Dozar to load the bases. The southpaw worked out of the jam by having Hanover pop up in foul territory and struck out Mahtook to leave the sacks full.

A one-out single by Dean and a four-pitch walk to Gibbs in the seventh prompted another Gator pitching change, as junior Kevin Chapman (Coral Springs, Fla.) took over for Maronde (1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER). Tucker misplayed Gaudet’s grounder at first base for an error, loading the bases. Landry closed the gap to 8-5 with a sacrifice fly in foul territory before Chapman had Edward fly out to strand the runners.

Thompson began the home part of the eighth with his third hit of the game and moved over on a sacrifice bunt by Adams. After Fontana drew a walk from junior Mitch Mormann (3.1, 1 H, 0 R), the righty had senior Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) pop out and Tucker ground out to keep the Tigers’ deficit at three runs.

Chapman retired the side 1-2-3 in the ninth to nail down his eighth save. The left-hander collected two strikeouts and did not allow any hits or runs over 2.2 innings. The trio of Zunino, Thompson and Adams was a combined 6-for-9 with seven RBI and four runs as UF out-hit LSU, 12-10.


TENNESSEE EVENS SERIES WITH LATE-INNING RALLY

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Although Kentucky erased a five-run deficit to tie the game in the sixth, the University of Tennessee baseball team was able to withstand the Wildcat rally and score twice in the eighth on a two-RBI single by junior Josh Liles to even the weekend series with an 8-6 triumph on Saturday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Sophomore Matt Ramsey continued his dominance on the mound, twirling 3.1 shutout innings to earn his third win of the season. The Knoxville native allowed just two hits and a pair of walks while tying his career high with four strikeouts. Over his last three outings, Ramsey has not allowed a run in eight innings. During that stretch, he has yielded just three hits and two walks while striking out nine.

"It was a very emotional game," UT Head Coach Todd Raleigh said. "We went up early and they did a great job of bouncing back and battling, but we were fortunate to come out on top. Obviously, the difference to me was Matt Ramsey. He was phenomenal again, just as he was last week against Vanderbilt. They had all of the momentum when we brought him into the game and he just shut them down the rest of the way. He threw up zeroes and gave us a chance to win the game.

You hate to use your closer for three innings, but the way I look at it, it was do-or-die for us. We had to win today, we have to win tomorrow. There’s no tomorrow and that’s how we played it. Matt just hasn’t been getting the ball enough. He’s good enough to be a starter. If he wasn’t so good at being a closer, he’d be a starter for us. He has a great mentality and he bounces back well. He just hasn’t been getting enough opportunities. That game was on the line in the sixth and I wasn’t going to let us fall down one or two (runs) and then bring him in to pitch the ninth.

"I thought we had a lot of guys do a lot of good things today. Blake Forsythe threw out a couple of runners, which was huge. Josh Liles got a couple of hits, Cody Hawn played well and P.J. (Polk) had a great game."

Juniors P.J. Polk and Cody Hawn each hit home runs for the Volunteers in the victory. For Polk, he became the first UT player this season to reach double-digits with his 10th of the year, while Hawn blasted his eighth longball.

Polk also becomes just the fifth Tennessee player since 1980 to have 10+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases in a single season, as he also swiped his 21st bag on Saturday, while going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Jeff Christensen accomplished the feat in both 2000 and 2001, while Jeff Foster, Chris Burke and Eli Iorg did it in 1993, 2001 and 2005, respectively.

Hawn finished the game with three RBIs as well, all on his round-tripper, while going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run. Junior Blake Forsythe also notched a multi-hit contest, going 2-for-5 on the day with a pair of singles.

Senior right-hander Stephen McCray started for the Vols but did not factor into the decision after leaving the game with the score tied after six. He twirled 5.2 innings on the day, allowing six runs on eight hits and three walks. He also struck out four.

The Orange and White came racing out of the gates, getting a runner into scoring position just three pitches into the bottom of the first as junior Khayyan Norfork was hit by a pitch and Liles moved him up 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt. Norfork then took off for third on the very next pitch, but was caught stealing by UK catcher Marcus Nidiffer. The Vols kept their foot on the gas pedal though as Polk took the next pitch and deposited it over the wall in right center to give his team an early 1-0 lead.

Although Kentucky put runners on the corners with just one out in the top of the second, McCray worked his way out of the jam with a pair of fly outs to sophomore Charley Thurber in right. Tennessee then jumped out to a 5-0 lead with four runs in its half of the second.

Forsythe kicked off the frame with a sharp single through the left-side of the infield on the first offering he saw, but the Wildcats erased him from the basepaths on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Thurber. A single to right by Ramsey put runners on first and second for Hawn who promptly launched a rocket to the opposite field that easily cleared "The Porch" in left for his eighth home run of the 2010 campaign.

That would not be all for the Vols though, as sophomore Zach Osborne followed with a high chopper to third that went for an infield single. He then moved up 90 feet on a groundout by Norfork before coming home to score on an RBI single to right by Polk to make it 5-0 in favor of Tennessee.

The Wildcats were not going to go away without a fight though, scoring twice in the fourth after a scoreless third by both starters. Lance Ray got UK on the scoreboard with a leadoff shot to right-center to lead off the stanza. Andy Burns followed with a one-out double two batters later and moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a wild pitch.

The Big Orange got one of the runs back in the bottom of the fourth on another run-scoring single by Polk, but Kentucky countered in the top of the fifth with another solo home run, this one by Gunner Glad, to keep its deficit at three runs with the scoreboard reading 6-3.

After Tennessee was dispatched in order in the bottom of the fifth, UK was able to tie the contest up at 6-6 with a three-spot in the following frame. All three runs came with two outs, as McCray got the first two batters to fly out. He then hit Taylor Black with a 1-1 pitch, who quickly stole second to move into scoring position.

An infield single by Chris Bisson moved Black to third and, after Bisson stole second, Chad Wright roped a double to left-center to bring both runners in and end McCray’s evening. Glad then greeted Ramsey with a triple over Liles’ head in center on a 3-2 fastball to score Bisson and tie the game. Ramsey kept it that way though, getting Ray to fly out to Polk in left to end the inning.

The score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the eighth when the Orange and White finished off the scoring with a pair of runs. Hawn got things started for UT, bouncing a single back up the middle. The Vols then got a bit of a break as Osborne grounded one to the shortstop, but the throw to second pulled the second baseman off the bag, allowing Hawn to slide in safely.

At that point, UK Head Coach Gary Henderson would make the call to his bullpen to bring Wildcat closer Matt Little into the contest. He proceeded to plunk Norfork with his first pitch to load the bases with nobody out for Liles. After watching the first pitch go for a ball, the Jackson, Tenn., native looped a single to center to plate both Osborne and senior Cody Grisham who had come on to pinch run for Hawn.

Ramsey then came out in the ninth and closed the door. Kentucky did try to mount a rally, putting a pair of runners on with one out after back-to-back walks, but Ramsey got Farris to pop up to Osborne in shallow left and Burns to fly out to Thurber on the warning track in right to end the game.



VANDERBILT-GEORGIA BASEBALL SUSPENDED

Georgia has 4-2 lead heading into bottom of the fourth

NASHVILLE - Vanderbilt’s baseball game against Georgia, started two hours and 27 minutes late and after three and a half innings was suspended for the night with the Bulldogs holding a 4-2 lead.

The game was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. and was delayed for two hours and 27 minutes due to the torrential rain that hit middle Tennessee all day.

The teams will try and complete the game at Noon tomorrow, followed by a seven-inning contest 30 minutes later. If the games don’t get started and are cancelled then the suspended game will not officially count with just the Friday game in the books. VU took a 1-0 lead in the first when Brian Harris singled, advanced two bases on a wild pitch, and scored on a RBI groundout by Anthony Gomez.

The Bulldogs tied the game in the second when Robert Shipman singled and scored on Chase Davidson’s RBI double down the left field line. The Commodores took the lead back in the bottom half, when Andrew Giobbi doubled and scored on Connor Harrell’s single to right.

Georgia took the lead with three unearned runs in the fourth. Todd Hankins had a RBI single and Zach Taylor a two-run single in the frame. As soon as the final out was recorded in the top of the fourth, the tarp was put on the field at 9:28 p.m.