Georgia baseball walk-off homer sweeps No. 11 Auburn

Ryland Zaborowski, Slate Alford and Christian Adams loaded the bases down 6-4 on two singles and a walk. Foley Field’s speakers and red LED lights blared as Auburn coach Butch Thompson visited the mound, further igniting the home crowd.

That brought Nolan McCarthy to the plate. The Kentucky transfer hit a 25-foot dribbler to Auburn pitcher Jett Johnston.

Johnston had plenty of time to throw McCarthy out at home but missed his catcher entirely. That tied the game at six runs, bringing Jackson to the plate.

Jackson, a Wofford transfer, was in the on-deck circle as the lights and music fired up the home crowd.

“I was actually thinking about it for a split second in the box, it was definitely the loudest at-bat I’ve ever had in my life, so I was just trying to breathe and slow the game down,” Jackson said. “That’s why I wanted to come here, to be part of stuff like this.”

Auburn had just taken the lead on a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, but several players said the dugout remained unfazed.

“It’s like I said, ‘Guys, hey, they’ve got to get us out three times, too,’ now, and it’s hard in this league to do that in extra innings,” UGA coach Wes Johnson said.

UGA’s offense dealt the final blow with a long ball, a fitting end to a day where Bulldog legend Charlie Condon threw the first pitch.

The Bulldogs swept a Saturday doubleheader after beating the Tigers (20-8, 4-5) by an 11-7 count in game two.

The series ended a day earlier than planned after Sunday’s finale was pushed up due to “high probability of inclement weather.” Georgia, which swept then-No. 13-ranked Florida last weekend, swept back-to-back ranked opponents for the first time since 2008.

Georgia capitalized on a couple other Auburn mistakes to take a 4-3 lead it held until the ninth inning. The Bulldogs entered the sixth inning trailing 3-2 with five straight scoreless frames.

Then Alford kickstarted the Georgia attack with a leadoff double. Alford advanced to third on a McCarthy infield single, putting runners on the corners with one out.

Jackson took a fastball to the elbow and loaded the bases for Henry Hunter.

Georgia’s catcher smacked a hard ground ball right to Auburn first baseman Cooper McMurray, giving him plenty of time to turn an inning-ending double play. McMurray botched the pickup, though, and could only step on first as Alford tied the game.

Then Kolby Branch bounced a 1-1 pitch to Auburn shortstop Deric Fabian’s left. Fabian turned to throw Branch out at first and fell on his backside, letting Branch reach safely while McCarthy scampered home.

Georgia’s pitching struggled more Saturday than it did in Friday’s 4-1 series-opening win. Starter Leighton Finley surrendered all three runs in the first three innings before the bullpen locked things down.

The next four relievers kept Auburn scoreless before the Tigers tied it at four runs in the ninth and took the lead with a two-run homer in the top of the tenth.

Saturday’s first game felt like its own doubleheader. Auburn led Georgia 1-0 halfway through the game before the Bulldogs sparked a shootout in bottom of the fifth inning.

UGA scored six runs on a double, four singles, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and a wild pitch. Branch, Robbie Burnett and Ryland Zaborowski loaded the bases to start the inning for Slate Alford.

Alford grounded into a fielder’s choice to tie the game one run. Christian Adams and McCarthy hit back-to-back RBI singles for a 3-1 lead before Hunter bounced an RBI automatic double for two more runs.

The Grayson High School product skied a curveball into the intersection of the foul line and the left-field wall. The ball, tucked just behind Auburn left fielder Bristol Carter’s outstretched glove, bounced over the wall and out of play.

Jackson scored Georgia’s final run of the inning on a wild slider on the next at-bat.

The six-run inning appeared to wake up both offenses, as Auburn responded immediately with five more runs. The Tigers tagged UGA starter Brian Curley for three earned runs, chasing the VCU transfer before he could record an out in the sixth.

Georgia broke the tie for good in the bottom of the sixth. Zaborowksi and Alford reached on a pair of one-out singles before Christian Adams hit the Bulldogs’ first bomb of the day.

The FAU transfer “fed the trees” behind left field, punishing a belt-high fastball over the middle of the plate.

Georgia scored its last two runs on a throwing error from Auburn’s catcher and a solo homer from McCarthy.

JT Quinn kept the Tigers tamed on the mound, allowing one run in the last three innings. The Ole Miss transfer struck out four with no walks and two hits.

Georgia kept its share of first place in the conference standings. The Bulldogs are already over halfway to the coveted 15-win mark in SEC play, which is usually enough to seal an NCAA Tournament berth.

Johnson said he didn’t think any of his SEC teams had every started 8-1 in conference play before, but was quick to downplay its meaning.

“It means we’ve got 21 of these things left, and this league don’t care, man,” Johnson said. “You’d better be hooked up and ready to go. They don’t care.”

The Bulldogs finished with 17 SEC wins last season and are on pace for nearly 27. UGA has tougher battles ahead -- see next weekend at No. 7 Texas -- but the goal of totaling 20 SEC wins seems well within UGA’s grasp.

Georgia is back in action playing host to Queens University of Charlotte at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. The Bulldogs will open their top-10 series against the Longhorns at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.