Game #22: No. 7 Georgia 8, No. 23 Texas A&M 2
Records: Texas A&M (17-5, 1-4), Georgia (20-4, 4-1)
WP: Matt Scott (4-0)
LP: Weston Moss (3-2)
Box Score
Overpowered.
Plain and simple, No. 23 Texas A&M’s pitching got bloodied during an 8-2 loss to No. 7 Georgia on Saturday afternoon because the Aggies can’t overpower elite offenses.
Or at least that’s how it looks through six games against ranked opponents in which A&M is just 1-5 on the season.
“We got pummeled,” lamented head coach Michael Earley. “Can’t do much offensively, and they did, so it was not a great performance at all. They just flat-out beat us in every aspect of the game.”
Sure, the Bulldogs boast perhaps the nation’s most powerful lineup, but six home runs in nine innings is hard to fathom.
Fortunately, all but one homer — Kolby Branch’s second of the day, a two-run shot in the sixth — came with nobody on, or else the score could have been more lopsided than it already was.
“They were just putting good swings on pitches in certain counts, locations, not always in that count, but honestly, hats off to them right now,” Earley said of Georgia. “When the ball’s in the zone, they’re hammering it.”
Starter Weston Moss allowed four solo homers in 3.1 innings, including back-to-back jacks in the third, while Gavin Lyons surrendered two home runs in the sixth.
Only Grant Cunningham — who authored 3.1 innings of scoreless relief in a mop-up spot — was effective on Saturday.
“It’s obviously difficult, like props to them,” Cunningham said. “You look at the scoreboard, and you see the home runs and everything, and it’s obviously impressive, but the thing that [Jason Kelly] always tells us is it doesn’t matter if Mike Trout’s in the box or if it’s your mom or your girlfriend; it’s all the same, so the pitch is the pitch.”
Too bad there aren’t any mothers or significant others in SEC lineups.
Across a run-rule loss to top-ranked UCLA and A&M’s first five SEC games, the Aggie staff has an overgrown 9.37 ERA.
Understatement for sure, but that’s nowhere near good enough as series with No. 2 Texas, No. 18 Florida, No. 5 Auburn, and No. 6 Mississippi State remain ahead.
Following Friday’s 9-4 defeat, Earley said he expects his team to respond. Well, battling from behind yet again, every time the Aggies attempted to answer back, the Bulldogs were louder and louder.
Trailing 3-0, Caden Sorrell’s third-inning double scored Boston Kellner. Branch responded with a solo shot.
Trailing 4-1 in the fifth, Gavin Grahovac scored after a leadoff double. Georgia answered with a four-spot that included a pair of home runs.
“I thought today was the first day all year we haven’t responded to any sort of adversity,” Earley said. “This league is tough. You play 30 games in this league. We’ve got 25 of them left to play. You gotta keep grinding. You’ve got to stay in it. Never want to get swept, especially at home, and you've got to win some series, period, so tomorrow is a huge game for us and an opportunity for us to respond again.
“We’re just getting beat, so it’s about coming out and just being better. We gotta be better than them tomorrow, period.”
Through two games this weekend, the Aggies have just four extra-base hits, all doubles. Meanwhile, UGA’s home run count sits at nine. Billed as a battle of two potent offenses, the reality is not even close, as one side keeps punching while the other has been rather punchless.
Frustrations are beginning to mount, but if the Aggies are seeing red, can you really blame them? After all, they just watched red jerseys trot round and round, over and over.
The red flags are there as A&M attempts to salvage Sunday’s ballgame at 3 p.m. CT.
The term “must win” is often overused, but that’s how tomorrow’s series finale feels. That’s what happens when you get overpowered.
