Scott Stricklin’s fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs swatted the No. 17 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first of three games the rivals will play this season.
After the Jackets put the first run on the board in the top of the fourth inning, the Dawgs answered in the bottom half of the inning with a five-run outburst.
Tech chipped away at their most hated rivals’ lead, scoring three runs and blanking the home team in the fifth and sixth innings.
Still maintaining a one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh, pinch hitter Patrick Sullivan sent Cole Tate home from second base, giving the Bulldogs an insurance run that would prove to be vital.
The Yellow Jackets loaded the bases down two runs in the bottom of the ninth and scored one with a sacrifice fly. Junior reliever Ryan Webb, despite the immense pressure of the game’s ending, struck out similarly-named Jackson Webb (both billed from Roswell, strangely enough) to end the game.
Georgia’s Webb oversaw the final ten outs and earned his first save of the season.
FINAL| Nothing better than a Friday night win over an in-state rival. #UnfinishedBusiness | #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/y7fzNUSObx
— Georgia Baseball (@BaseballUGA) February 29, 2020
Webb told reporters after the game:
“I just love being in when the game is on the line and this just means more to me because its Tech. I have a lot of friends on that team and last year I kind of laid an egg against them at Suntrust.”
Bulldawg Illustrated posted Webb’s post-game interview.
As part of a neutral series between in-state foes, the three-game stand features one game at Georgia’s Foley Field, another at Tech’s stadium at 255 Ferst Drive in Atlanta, and a third contest at Coolray Field, the home of Atlanta Braves AAA affiliate Gwinnett Stripers.