Georgia OF Cole Johnson robs potential go-ahead HR for final out to secure series win over Tennessee
By David Wasson
Published:
The sixth-ranked Georgia baseball team pulled off a stunning series victory over 21st-ranked Tennessee on Sunday, as outfielder Cole Johnson robbed the Volunteers of a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning to seal an 8-7 Bulldogs win and a critical SEC series victory.
Tennessee’s Stone Lawless cranked an 0-1 pitch from Georgia reliever Justin Byrd to left-center field, with Johnson tracking it the entire way and leaping over the fence to snare what would have been a two-run home run for the game’s final out.
WHAT HAPPENEDDDDD pic.twitter.com/YCfgJoCvx3
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The catch set off a euphoric eruption from the Foley Field crowd in Athens as well as in the SEC Network booth and with the Bulldogs (17-4) themselves – who chased Johnson around in the outfield before finally catching him to celebrate as a team.
Tennessee (14-6) gave up five runs to Georgia in the seventh inning, as Daniel Jackson delivered an RBI single, another run scored via error and Bryce Calloway belted a three-run homer to right field to make it 8-6. The Volunteers narrowed the margin in the top of the ninth via a Blake Grimmer solo homer to left.
Henry Ford hit a two-run homer for Tennessee in the third, and Brennan Hudson added a solo shot for Georgia in the sixth.
Matt Scott (3-0) earned the victory for Georgia with his three innings of work, and Byrd pitched only to Lawless en route to earning his second save of the season. Georgia’s Brayden Krenzel (0-1) took the loss.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
