LEXINGTON ? Georgia pounded out 15 hits and held Kentucky to four en route to a 6-2 victory in the Wildcats Southeastern Conference home opener Friday night at Applebee?s Park.
Kentucky lost for the sixth straight outing and fell to 12-8 overall, including an 0-4 mark in league play. Georgia, the defending SEC champion, improved to 12-9 and 1-3 in the league. The teams meet again Saturday at 2 p.m. before wrapping up the series Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games are slated for Applebee?s Park. Saturday?s contest can be heard on the radio in Lexington at WXRA 1580-AM and online at www.UKathletics.com.
?Georgia is one of the most talented teams in America,? said Kentucky head coach John Cohen. ?It?s no accident they were in (the College World Series) last year and won the Southeastern Conference.?
Kentucky jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and third, but never threatened again. The Wildcats have scored five runs or fewer in six straight games and have not posted more than four in any league game. This game marked just the second time this year Kentucky has scored first and lost.
J.B. Schmidt led off the game with a single and scored when Billy Grace followed with a double. Grace went to third on the throw home but was caught in a rundown when Shaun Lehmann grounded to the third basemen.
In the third, Schmidt reached second after back-to-back walks by Mitchell Boggs. He came home when catcher Joe Billick tried to force him out at third on a Michael Bertram bunt and his throw ended up in left field.
John Shelby led off the second with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch with nobody out. However, he never got past that point as the next three Wildcats went quietly. Shelby?s hit was the last for Kentucky until he doubled with one out in the ninth.
?That is an area we have really struggled the last two weeks,? Cohen said. ?Contact situations, with less than two outs and runners at third base, we just have not done that. Fortunately for us, they didn?t do that either.?
Starting pitcher Scott Green held the lead through the first four innings by pitching out of a couple of jams. He stranded seven Bulldog runners in the first four innings. In the fourth, Georiga loaded the bases with nobody out, but Green got Brandon Masters to hit into the 1-2-3 double play and he got out of the inning unscathed.
However, Green could not keep the floodgates from opening in the fifth after his throwing error led to leadoff batter Justin Niefer reaching safely. An out later, he walked Josh Morris to set up the double play but allowed four straight hits to plate the first three runs. Craig Snipp then came on in relief and gave up an RBI single.
?Scott is just a 19-year old freshman pitching in the second SEC game of his life,? Cohen noted. ?That?s the story of our entire club right now. We are figuring out the level that we need to play in this league.?
Leading 4-2 in the sixth, Georgia added an insurance run as Josh Smith tripled to leadoff and scored on a passed ball. The Bulldogs added a single run in the ninth for the final margin.
Green took his first loss of the year to fall to 1-1. He worked 4 1/3 innings and allowed four runs ? three earned ? on nine hits while walking three and striking out two. Snipp worked the final 4 2/3 innings and gave up two runs on six hits. He struck out a season-high five.
Boggs earned the win and moved to 2-2 this year. He went six innings and allowed two runs on three hits while striking out six. Will Startup was nearly flawless in earning his third save of the year. He went three innings and gave up only the double to Shelby while fanning three.
?The two guys we faced today are as good as anybody you?ll face in college baseball and they really pitched well,? Cohen said. ?You have to hope they are out of the zone and you have to take your best swings. A combination of those things didn?t happen.?
The teams will each send their staff ace to the mound on Saturday. For Kentucky, freshman Andrew Albers (3-1, 1.16 ERA) takes the hill. Georgia counters with Michael Hyle (1-1, 3.81)
Notes: Kentucky lost its sixth straight game overall ? Kentucky lost its eighth straight in SEC play dating back to last year ? Kentucky fell to 11-2 this year when scoring first ? Kentucky had three errors, giving it six straight games with three errors or more ? Kentucky had just two baserunners in the 4-8 innings ? Craig Snipp allowed his first earned run of the year and his ERA now stands at 0.83 ? Snipp had a season high five strikeouts ? John Shelby his seventh multi-hit game of the year and the 16th of his career ? J.P. Lowen threw out one runner stealing and has thrown out 5-of-10 this year.
Georgia 6, Kentucky 2
March 25, 2005 Lexington, Ky.
Georgia – 000 041 001 – 6 15 3 (12-9, 1-3 SEC) Kentucky – 101 000 000 – 2 4 3 (12-8, 0-4 SEC)
Pitchers: Georgia – Boggs; Startup(7). Kentucky – S. Green; C. Snipp(5). Win-Boggs(2-2) Save-Startup(3) Loss-S. Green(1-1) T-2:40 A-243
