ATHENS, Ga. — The 23rd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs defeated the 16th-ranked Florida Gators, 7-6, in walk-off fashion in game one, on Thursday at Foley Field.
In the bottom of the seventh, down one, with two outs, Josh McAllister ripped a double down the left-field line driving in two runs to give the Bulldogs the walk-off win over the Gators.
“It was a great win,” said Georgia's Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin. “Both teams battled back-and-forth. We had a lot of energy and momentum early on, but the good team that they (Florida) are, they battled back. We got a 4-3 lead and felt pretty good about things, then (Mac) Guscette hits a home run, his first of the year. Jaden (Woods) did a nice job of keeping us there. Then, we just kept fighting and had some great at-bats, and turned it over to (Josh) McAllister to get it done.”
Georgia's (20-6, 4-3 SEC) seven runs came on 11 hits, led by a 3-for-5, two-RBI, walk-off performance by Josh McAllister and a 2-for-2, night by Connor Tate, while five Bulldogs notched one hit apiece.It was the third walk-off for the Bulldogs this season and second of McAllister's career. He delivered a solo home run for a 3-2 win over Gardner-Webb last year. It was the 26th of the Stricklin era.
On the mound, Garrett Brown went three innings giving up two runs on four hits with a strikeout. In relief, Luke Wagner went 3.1 innings giving up two runs on one hit with four strikeouts, while Jaden Woods (1-0) earned the win with 2.2 innings of work, giving up two runs on three hits, fanning four Gators. Florida (18-8, 3-4 SEC) left-handed pitcher, Hunter Barco went five innings giving up three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts, while Ryan Slater went 3.2 innings of work, allowing one run on two hits. Blake Purnell (2-2) was tabbed with the loss..
The Bulldogs struck first in the opening inning, with a pair of runs. On the second pitch of the game, leadoff batter Ben Anderson stroked a solo shot to left field. After a triple by Cole Tate, Corey Collins plated the second run of the inning on a single through the right side to give Georgia a two-run lead.
The Gators tied the game at two runs apiece in the third inning, thanks to pair of back-to-back RBI singles. Georgia responded in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff bomb to right-center field by Parks Harber to take a 3-2 lead. In the sixth inning, UGA added to its lead with another solo home run, this time by Chaney Rogers to give Georgia a 4-2 edge. Florida responded in the seventh with a two-run home run by Guscette to tie the game back up at four runs apiece.
In the top of the ninth with two outs and a runner on first, Florida center fielder Jud Fabian picked up his first hit of the game, a two-run home run to left field to give Florida its first lead of the game, 6-4. It was his 11th of the year.
In the bottom of the frame, with two outs and runners on first and second Garrett Blaylock roped a single to left field scoring a run to draw the Bulldogs within one. Again with two outs and runners on first and second, McAllister striped a double down the left-field line, scoring two runs and giving Georgia the walk-off.
“The place was packed,” said Stricklin. “The greenhouse was great, the outfield was great. The fans showed up tonight. For a Thursday night at 8 p.m. I thought it might be a tough draw, but our fans answered the bell tonight.”
Georgia will return to action Friday, April 1 with game two of a three-game series against the Florida Gators. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. (SECN+).
Quick Hits
-- Tonight marked the 289th meeting between the Bulldogs and Gators – Florida owns a 189-98-2 advantage over Georgia in the series.
-- Start Fast – Ben Anderson hit a leadoff home run to open the game for the second time this season – first on opening day against Albany. With the hit, Anderson improved his streak of safely reaching base to 24 straight games.
-- 412 – A day quickly approaching… and the distance of a Parks Harber home run in the bottom of the fourth.
-- Barco Bombs – Coming into tonight, Hunter Barco had allowed just two home runs in 38.1 innings – the Bulldogs hit two in four innings.
-- 415 – Also a day in April… and the distance of Chaney Rogers' home run in the sixth inning – the longest home run of the season. In fact, Rogers' last home run came on May 16, 2021, at Florida.
-- Clutch– Tonight’s win marks the third walk-off win of the season for Georgia.
