Dominating on the mound and at the plate, scoring four runs early and holding No. 5 Texas baseball hitless into the fifth inning, the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs were on cruising easy street Saturday afternoon.
Early dreams quickly turned into pure nightmares for the Bulldogs as they began to flounder — ultimately crumbling in the seventh inning. The Longhorns came storming back scoring seven unanswered runs late to take a 7–4 victory over Georgia, winning their second top-three series of the year.
Clawing their way back, dividing the deficit in half in the fifth inning with a two RBI home run by sophomore infielder Jaquae Stewart, Texas needed another spark to maintain their comeback.
Having one of the better fielding teams in the Southeastern Conference, an error in the seventh proved to be the start of Georgia’s downfall and the perfect momentum builder for the Longhorns.
“Stewart hit the homer and kind of gave us a little life,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “We just put together some really good at bats against so many good arms.”
Working with a runner on first, lead-off hitter sophomore infielder Ethan Mendoza shot the ball into right field. With the wind blowing in, it proved too difficult to track for Georgia sophomore outfielder Daniel Jackson to reel in the fly ball.
Getting underneath, Jackson committed a pivotal fielder error, paving the way for Mendoza and junior infielder Jayden Duplantier to advance into prime scoring position.
“That’s a tough wind and right field here, especially on sunny days. It’s really hard to play,” Schlossnagle said. “Usually in a comeback, you need a little bit of help.”
Team leader in doubles, junior infielder Jalin Flores added to his season total on the next at-bat, shooting his 13th double toward center field barring enough time for Mendoza and Duplantier to dash home tying the game up at four.
“At that point in the game, we’re just passing at-bats,” Flores said.“We know that big blow is coming. Those guys got on. I did what I could, seeing pitches and got a good pitch to drive (and) drove it.”
Swapping pitchers, the inning was far from over for the Bulldogs. The fresh Georgia pitcher walked junior catcher Rylan Galvan, setting up sophomore outfielder Will Gasparino, team leader in RBIs and one of the Longhorns’ most productive hitters, for another big moment.
Living up to the pressure, Gasparino bit on the 2–2 count, rocketing the ball to left center field. Fighting the hustling wind, the ball did not have enough carry to find its way out of the park, still reaching deep enough to allow Flores and Galvan to pounce home giving Texas a two-run lead.
Advancing to third on the throw, Gasparino was quickly brought in for his own score as graduate infielder Kimble Schuessler’s sacrifice fly ball sent the lanky outfielder home concluding the Longhorns’ decisive scoring run.
Texas will look to complete the sweep over Georgia tomorrow at 1 p.m. at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas.
