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Christopher Lakos
Georgia Sports Communications
Kentucky defeated Georgia 12-2 Sunday to complete an SEC opening weekend sweep in front of a crowd of 2,899 at Proud Park.
The Bulldogs (17-4, 0-3 SEC) took a 2-0 lead in the second on a two-run home run by junior catcher Henry Hunter. Graduate Paul Toetz was on base after a leadoff walk. It was Hunter’s fourth home run of the season and 13th of his career. In the third, Georgia loaded the bases with one out, but the Wildcats turned a double play to end the threat. Georgia finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
Kentucky (17-3, 3-0 SEC) responded in the bottom of the frame, scoring five runs on three hits, all with two outs including a two-run double by Nick Lopez, an RBI-triple by Mitchell Daly and a two-run home run by Ryan Nicholson for a 5-2 advantage. In the fourth, Kentucky struck again with two outs, this time it was a two-run home run by Emilien Pitre to extend the lead to 7-2. It ended Jarvis Evans’ outing who came in for starter Christian Mracna who went 2.2 innings. Sophomore Zach Harris and graduate Brian Zeldin also saw action as Kentucky built a 12-2 lead before the game ended after seven innings due to the 10-run rule.
Wildcat junior Mason Moore improved to 4-0, pitching six innings and struck out eight. Mracna got the loss to drop to 2-1.
“It was another day where the breaks didn’t go our way early and then when the snowball started down the hill, we couldn’t stop it,” said Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Wes Johnson. “We got to get better. We have to be able to stop it. We have to get better in the batter’s box, on the pitcher’s mound, and believe we can get out of a situation when things don’t go our way. The ball is not going to bounce your way every day, and it didn’t this weekend. We’re going to learn from it. We’re going to practice tomorrow and get better.”
Georgia returns to Foley Field for its next five games starting Tuesday against Wofford. First pitch is set for 5:02 p.m., and the game will be available on SECN+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.