ATHENS — Despite a strong bullpen effort from redshirt-senior Heath Holder, Georgia fell 3-1 to second-ranked South Carolina Friday night at Foley Field.
With the loss the Bulldogs drop to 18-17 overall and 4-9 in SEC play, while South Carolina improves to 29-6 and 11-2 in conference play.
USC took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second after Chris Cullen drove home Alex Destino, who advanced around the bases via a walk, fielder’s choice and a wild pitch.
The Gamecocks tacked on another run the following inning after tagging up on a fly out to center field as Stephen Wrenn’s heave home arrived just late.
In the top of the fourth inning redshirt-senior Heath Holder was called on to relieve starter Robert Tyler and the Loganville, Georgia, native got the Bulldogs out of a jam, conceding only one run and striking out two batters to finish the inning.
Daniel Nichols got things going for UGA in the bottom of the fourth, smashing a homerun off the top of the scoreboard for the Bulldogs’ first run. Holder kept the momentum going on the mound in top of the inning downing three-straight batters.
Despite Holder’s performance, the Bulldogs couldn’t mount a comeback in the final few innings. Georgia’s last chance in the bottom of the ninth ended with a ground out to the short stop with a runner on first. Holder finished the night with 5.2 innings pitched, six strikeouts and zero runs allowed.
Dawg Tracks
-Daniel Nichols’ solo homerun marks his fifth this season, which is tied for first for the Bulldogs.
-Of Georgia’s 24 homeruns this season, 15 of them have been solo shots.
-Heath Holder’s six strikeouts marks a personal career high as a relief pitcher.
-Trevor Kieboom extended his on base streak to 13 games, currently leading the team.
Head Coach Scott Stricklin
On Holder's performance...
"He did a great job and gave us a chance to win. He came in in a tough situation and didn't start out real well for him, but he was able to turn the page and got us some big outs. He gave us a chance to win. We had an opportunity to win that game, as poorly as we played defensively and we walked six guys, here we are in the ninth inning with the tying run at the plate. We hung in there and we gave ourselves a chance to win, but at the end of the day we gave them too many free bases and that was the difference in the game."
On the defensive performance...
"Unfortunately we just didn't make the plays. It's not from a lack of effort, just for whatever reason we didn't make the plays when we needed to make them. The first run that scored, he got on on a walk, the second run that scored got on on an error, and the third run that scored got on because of an error. So three free bases that they didn't have to earn, we gave it to them. You can't beat a top-10 team in the country if you're giving free bases."
Sr. RHP Heath Holder
On what was working tonight on the mound...
"First pitch strikes. My fastball was first pitch strikes. I was mixing all speeds in for strikes and just really attacking the hitters."
On his curveball's effectiveness...
"I've been working on in a lot lately. My curveball is probably my best pitch in my opinion and I've been working on it tonight. It paid off tonight."
Sr. DH Daniel Nichols
On how errors affected the game…
“The errors made a difference, but Schmidt had us off balance all night. He’s a really good pitcher and we knew that coming in. We had some poor at bats early and strung some together late. Robert wasn’t his best, but Heath kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win. We just came up short.
On how the team puts this game behind them…
“We just have to go back to work. We’ll work really hard in practice. It’s not a lack of concentration. I feel like maybe we’re just trying a little bit too hard. There’s no need to dwell on it now because we have a long road ahead of us competition wise.”
Up Next
The Bulldogs are back in action for the second part of their series with South Carolina tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET at Foley Field.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/4/388664/bulldogs-come-up-short-against-no-2-south-carolina