NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Junior left-hander JD Thompson threw 120 pitches over eight innings with 14 strikeouts to lead No. 19 Vanderbilt to a 3-1 win over fifth-ranked Georgia Thursday at Hawkins Field.
Vanderbilt tied it with a leadoff home run in the seventh from Brodie Johnston, and it was just their second hit on the night. The Commodores later took the lead in the frame, scoring one more run on three hits.
"Slate (Alford) comes out and hits the solo shot to start the game, and I challenged our offense a little bit after the game. I guess they thought they would come out here, and this guy and team would roll over, and that wasn't the case," Georgia coach Wes Johnson said. "That sucker dug in and competed, and when it was time for us to turn on the switch, he already got ahead of us. On the road, games like this, you continue to learn. We'll have a really good plan tomorrow, and when we come out, we'll be ready to play."
Senior Slate Alford led off the game with a home run for the third time this season to give the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead. It was Alford's 11th home run, and he extended his on-base streak to 23 games.
The Bulldogs finished the night with one run on five hits and 15 strikeouts. Commodore left-hander JD Thompson (3-3) went eight innings with 14 strikeouts and threw 120 pitches.
Georgia junior right-hander Brian Curley (2-1) pitched six innings and allowed two runs on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in a loss. Vanderbilt put a runner at third with two outs in the first and fifth frames, and he came back with a strikeout to maintain a 1-0 advantage.
"Brian was very effective with six scoreless innings," Johnson said. "He gave up that leadoff home run in the seventh. Their guy jumped him there on a first pitch. We worked through a lot of guys to keep it 2-1 in that inning which we did and then there was an infield chopper, a weird play and they got one more run on us. The guys on the mound did fine. We didn't walk too many guys and punched out some. We have to play better tomorrow."
Georgia came into the series leading the nation in home runs with 100 and finished with one more on the night.
Georgia plays game two of the Vanderbilt series here Friday at 7:02 p.m. EDT (SECN+).
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