Wild pitching sinks Georgia baseball in home loss to Kentucky

“We’ll find the right guys who want to get in there and get in the fire and throw strikes and do it and execute pitches,” UGA coach Wes Johnson said.

Georgia will look for a better outing on Sunday with its only healthy traditional starter, Leighton Finley, on the mound for the series finale. Finley is the only Bulldog to go five innings in a start this season, and he has only done it once.

Georgia won game 1 on Friday 12-6 and will fight for an SEC-opening series win at 1 p.m.

Georgia’s pitching was more aggressive once Kentucky (14-3, 1-1) had a couple of runners on, but then the Wildcats’ ‘small ball’ attack took over. Seven Kentucky batters entered Saturday hitting .280 or better, and several boosted their averages with RBI hits.

Kentucky was 7-for-20 with runners in scoring position while Georgia was 3-for-8.

“I think what happens is guys go out there and try to get every count to 0-2 before they throw the first pitch, and when you do that, you fall behind,” Johnson said.

Georgia pitchers allowed seven total walks and hit four batters in the loss.

It’s one downside to Georgia’s pitching-by-depth plan. More relievers are asked to pitch well against a strong SEC lineup with no traditional starter eating innings on the front end.

Charlie Goldstein and Matthew Hoskins both struggled as openers this weekend. The Bulldogs had to quickly pivot to relievers in both games.

In the game 1 win, the Bulldogs stabilized things quickly enough to erase a 6-2 deficit and complete a comeback.

Georgia’s first two Saturday relievers, Jordan Stephens and Alton Davis II, struggled as much as Hoskins did. The Bulldogs gave up nine runs before Zach Brown provided the kind of relief Georgia wanted immediately after pulling Hoskins.

Georgia’s offense was also better on Friday, scoring 12 runs on 10 hits compared to seven runs on 10 hits in Saturday’s loss.

Georgia had its chances to claw back into the game once Brown entered the game.

Brown held Kentucky scoreless in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Georgia hit a pair of solo homers to cut the lead to 9-4 in the fifth before loading the bases with two outs.

Johnson opted to pinch hit left-hander Brennan Hudson in the spot. The Georgia State transfer struck out looking in his fourth at-bat of the season, ending the inning.

Johnson’s second pinch hit decision worked out better in the seventh inning. Christian Adams cut Kentucky’s lead to 9-5 with an RBI single.

A double play from Kentucky put Hudson back at the plate with a runner on second and two outs. He struck out again in the seventh.

Adams gave Georgia one last chance with a one-out double in the bottom of the ninth before Nolan McCarthy and Kolby Branch struck out to seal the loss.

Johnson did add that Ryan Black and Kolten Smith, who exited with injuries on Friday, should be available for Sunday’s finale. Johnson said all of Friday’s relievers are in play, as well.

“It’s all hands on deck tomorrow,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to win the series in the league.”