HOOVER, Ala.—Top-ranked Arkansas posted an 11-2 win over Georgia at the Hoover Met Wednesday in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
The Razorbacks (43-14) batted around in the second inning, scoring six runs on three hits plus were aided by five walks and a couple of Bulldog miscues. In the fifth, Cullen Smith connected for his seventh home run, a solo shot off Hank Bearden to make it 8-0. Georgia employed five pitchers on the night as they combined to walk 14 with 12 strikeouts, allowing 11 runs on only seven hits.
Freshman Charlie Goldstein (1-1) started and was lifted in the second, allowing three runs on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the fifth, freshman Max DeJong came on for the Bulldogs and was a bright spot. DeJong had only two career innings pitched in three appearances due a sore arm. He didn’t make his debut until April 13. However, on Wednesday, he tossed three scoreless and hitless innings with five strikeouts.
Arkansas starter Lael Lockhart came within an out of a perfect game when Josh McAllister broke up the bid with a single in the seventh with Georgia trailing 10-0. In the tournament, a 10-run rule after seven innings is in effect. After McAllister reached, freshman Corey Collins spoiled the shutout bid and extended the game with a two-run blast, high eighth of the year. Redshirt freshman Josh Stinson added Georgia’s only other hit on the night. Lockhart (3-2) finished with no walks and 11 strikeouts while Heston Tole took care of the final two frames.
Up next, Georgia (31-24) will face the loser of the Ole Miss-Vanderbilt game in an elimination game on Thursday. First pitch will be at approximately 2 p.m. ET, and Georgia will start freshman left-hander Liam Sullivan (1-1, 3.82 ERA). The start time depends on when the first game of the day finishes. The Thursday opener features Miss. State and Alabama at 9:30 a.m ET. The Georgia game will be televised by the SEC Network and be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Georgia’s Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On the game…
“Arkansas is number one in the country for a reason. You have to be at your best. We had way too many free passes. We didn’t compete well enough at the plate. We didn’t make plays when we needed to make them, and they did. (Lael) Lockhart was really good, and they made plays behind him. They had good at bats. They took advantage of all the free bases.”
