Georgia clinches series win over Texas A&M heading into SEC Tournament
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Georgia is riding into the postseason on a high note, riding some late-inning offense to a series-clinching win over Texas A&M.
On Saturday, the two sides met in a rubber match after Georgia won the series opener on Thursday and Texas A&M evened the 3-game set on Friday. That left the series up for grabs with both starting pitchers locking things down early on.
Neither team broke through across the first 4 innings of the game, and Georgia was the first to break the dead-even tie. Slate Alford would open the scoring with a 2-run home run, but the two sides would trade 2-run frames from the bottom of the 5th inning through the top of the 7th.
Then, it was Georgia’s 7th-inning rally that provided the difference in the game. Ryan Black broke the 4-all tie with an RBI single, and Ryland Zaborowski followed with a 2-RBI single to give the Bulldogs a 7-4 lead before holding on for the 7-5 victory over the Aggies.
Here is how Zaborowski provided the insurance for Georgia:
Myles Patton went 4.1 innings for Texas A&M with just 2 earned runs allowed, but the Aggies gave up 5 earned runs out of the bullpen. Offensively, the Aggies had 4 home runs, but could not get men on base for the big blow. Texas A&M registered 14 strikeouts in the loss.
Leighton Finley delivered a dynamite start for the Bulldogs, covering 6 innings with just 2 earned runs allowed and 7 strikeouts. Georgia also struggled at the plate with 13 strikeouts against the Aggies, but was able to find the clutch hitting late in the game.
The win is a major boost for the Bulldogs heading into the SEC Baseball Tournament with an 18-12 conference record. Georgia should also be in line for a host site in the regional round of the NCAA Tournament, with the potential for a top-8 seed throughout the Super Regional round in the hunt for the College World Series.
Meanwhile, preseason No. 1 Texas A&M heads into Hoover, where the Aggies likely need to win 5 straight games in order to secure a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
