Big Innings Doom No. 23 Kentucky in Series Finale

No. 3 Georgia used a pair of big innings on a warm, blustery Sunday afternoon at Foley Field where the baseball was flying to outslug No. 23 Kentucky for a 17-10 series-winning victory.

The teams traded punches all weekend long before the Bulldogs’ prolific offense took over Sunday, utilizing all facets as the Wildcats (14-4, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) struggled to string together outs in the offensive ballpark.

Georgia (21-2, 2-1 SEC) had a seven-run third inning to take a 9-4 lead and then a five-run sixth after UK erased that deficit. On the bright side, the Cats scored 26 runs of their own on the weekend, including 10 each on Saturday and Sunday.

In that seven-run third inning, Georgia benefitted from two hit by pitch, two walks and three hits with two strikes. The biggest blow came when Robbie Burnett’s bases loaded liner into the right-centerfield gap glanced off a diving Shaun Montoya’s glove for a three-run double.

After UK pulled even at 10 in the sixth, the Bulldogs used a swinging bunt, three walks and a two-out throwing error to open the advantage back to five. In the inning, a chippy series reached a boiling point as both benches were warned by the umpiring crew.

NOTES

• Kentucky is 14-4 (1-2 SEC) on the season.
• UK has 100 wins since the beginning of the 2023 season (100-41).
• UK has been hit by a pitch 33 times in the last nine games.
• UK has not been swept in its past 14 SEC series and 21 overall.
• UK has scored 63 runs in six games vs. Georgia the past two seasons.
• UK Coach Nick Mingione is in his ninth season at the helm and now owns a 276-170 career record.
  • Mingione now is the second-winningest coach in school history.
  • UK is 109-40 in the month of March under Coach Mingione.
  • Mingione now is 12-12 vs. Georgia.
• Senior OF Cole Hage hit his sixth home run of the season.
• Junior IF Luke Lawrence hit his second home run and drove in three.
• Senior C Devin Burkes also hit his second home run.
• RS Freshman IF Hudson Brown did not have an official at bat as he walked three times, was hit by a pitch and had a SAC fly.

 ON DECK

Kentucky hosts Murray State on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET. It will be streamed on SECN+ and radio will be carried by the UK Sports Network.