KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Georgia baseball entered this weekend’s series in Knoxville as the nation’s leader in home runs, leading second-place No. 5 Tennessee baseball by six.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 10 after teeing off on the Vols’ pitchers in Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Friday, hitting four home runs on 13 hits in a 16-2 run-rule victory in seven innings.
Tennessee’s dangerous offense was outdone in their own building while the Vols’ pitching was the worst it’s been all season.
An early 8-0 deficit gave the Vols an incredibly difficult uphill battle before the Bulldogs tallied eight more runs in the final three innings to run-rule Tennessee in the series opener.
Tennessee dropped to 22-5 (3-4 SEC) on the season with the loss while Georgia improved to 22-4 (4-3 SEC).
Here’s a few takeaways from Tennessee’s worst loss of the season.
Georgia’s Bats Get to AJ Causey Early
It was over before it started on Friday night in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
AJ Causey, who has been Tennessee’s best pitcher this season, was not himself, giving up seven earned runs in the first three innings.
The Bulldogs tallied six runs, five earned, against Causey in the second frame. The Dawgs recorded four hits and drew a pair of walks in the six-run inning while batting through the order.
After Causey issued two walks and Christian Moore committed a fielding error to load the bases with one out, shortstop Kolby Branch smoked a bases-clearing double to left-center field.
Georgia doubled their lead a pair of at-bats later, when leadoff hitter Corey Collins hammered a three-run home run to center field.
While Causey got two outs to finally end the second inning, Georgia’s onslaught continued in the third.
The Bulldogs scored two more runs in the third on just two pitches, as Henry Hunter singled on the first pitch of his at-bat before Fernando Gonzalez drove a two-run home run to left field on the first pitch of his at-bat.
Causey’s night ended in the third with two outs and a man on third, as graduate left-handed pitcher Chris Stamos relieved him.
In total, Causey gave up eight runs, seven earned, seven hits and two walks while striking out three on 70 pitches (47 strikes) in 2.2 innings. It was by far Causey’s worst performance of the season.
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Tennessee’s Offense Unable to Make Things Interesting
The Vols shaved two runs off of their vast deficit in the third with a pair of runs. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Christian Moore grounded into a double play, allowing a run to come across. Kavares Tears then provided the first true spark for Tennessee’s offense, roping an RBI double down the right-field line to bring the Vols within six runs.
But that was it for the Vols’ offense the remainder of the night.
It looked like Tennessee was going to continue to chip away at Georgia’s lead in the fourth after Dean Curley and Reese Chapman singled to begin the inning, but a flyout and double play kept the Vols’ deficit at six runs.
An uneventful fifth, sixth and seventh inning ensued for Tennessee at the plate as Georgia continued to extend their lead and earn the run-rule victory.
Vols Get Run-Ruled for First Time Ever
Tennessee had never suffered a loss via the run-rule in program history until Friday night. It’s important to note that the run-rule has only been in effect for two seasons, so there likely would have been plenty of run-rule losses during the dark years in the program’s history.
However, one could argue that Friday night’s loss is the worst in the past two seasons for the Vols. Tennessee lost by 10 runs to Kentucky in the series finale last year in Lindsey Nelson Stadium, but the Wildcats scored their 10th run in the top of the ninth inning.
Georgia scored three runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to take a 10-run lead.
Freshman right-hander Derek Schaefer relieved Stamos with a runner on second and one out in the fifth. Schaefer walked his first batter before giving up a two-run double and RBI double, both with two outs.
Left-fielder Clayton Chadwick provided the swing that gave Georgia a double-digit lead, taking Schaefer yard with a solo home run off the video board in the sixth.
Collins provided some insurance for the run-rule later in the inning, hitting his second three-run home run of the night. Gonzalez scored Georgia’s 16th and final run in the seventh with a sacrifice fly.
Up Next
Tennessee will look to bounce back after the ugly loss and even the series on Saturday against the Bulldogs. First pitch is at 5 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
