Feb. 19, 2010

#22 GEORGIA 7, BAYLOR 5 Box Score | Quotes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 1 7 11 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 5 10 2 Pitching IP H R ER BB SO W - Earls (1-0) 1.1 2 0 0 1 1 L - Verrett (0-1) 7.0 9 6 6 1 5 S - McRee (1) 2.0 2 1 1 3 4 Batting Leaders AB H RBI R BB HR BU - Muncy 5 2 3 2 0 2 BU - Slater 4 2 0 1 1 0 UGA - Taylor, J. 5 2 4 0 0 0 BAYLOR BASEBALL CENTRAL • Baylor Athletics Experience • Baseball Media Almanac

WACO, Texas - Baylor rallied from four runs down once, but needing a second rally, the Bears stranded the potential tying run on second base in the ninth, as No. 21 Georgia held on for a 7-5 win Friday night at Baylor Ballpark.

Johnathan Taylor delivered a pair of two-run singles, the first of which came in the fifth inning and capped a four-run outburst. Baylor starting pitcher Logan Verrett was perfect through the first four frames, but Georgia took advantage of an error and four hits to take a 4-0 lead in the fifth.

Georgia starting pitcher Justin Grimm was nearly as good through the first four frames, holding the Bears scoreless on two hits, but like Verrett, he ran into trouble in the fifth. Landis Ware led off with a single, stole second base and advanced to third on a flyout.

It looked like Grimm might escape unscathed after he struck out Joey Hainsfurther for the second out, but freshman Max Muncy came through with a two-run homer to right field, cutting the Baylor deficit in half at 4-2. Grimm got out of the fifth, but it would be his last inning before turning the ball over to reliever Cooper Moseley.

Grimm allowed two runs on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 5.0 innings, but did not factor in the decision.

Verrett worked around two singles in the top of the sixth with the help of a groundball double play, and the Bears tied the game by adding two more runs against Moseley in the bottom half of the inning. Josh Ludy and Chris Slater hit consecutive singles, and Hainsfurther came through with a two-out, two-run single to even the score at 4-4.

Georgia retook the lead for good with a pair of runs in the seventh. Christian Glisson and Kyle Farmer led off with back-to-back singles, and after a sacrifice bunt, Taylor delivered another two-run single. Verrett got the next two batters to escape the inning, but ended up taking the loss after allowing six runs on nine hits with one walk and five strikeouts in a career-high-tying 7.0 innings.

Justin Earls got the win in relief for the Bulldogs. He worked 1.1 shutout innings and allowed two hits. Alex McRee earned the save by staving off the Baylor rally in the bottom of the ninth. Muncy led off with his second homer of the game, this time to right-center, cutting the Georgia lead to 7-5.

Dan Evatt drew a walk, and one out later, Raynor Campbell drew a base on balls to get on base as the potential tying-run. Pinch runner Brooks Pinckard and Campbell pulled off a successful double steal to get both runners into scoring position. McRee got the second out by striking out Ludy, and after loading the bases with a walk to Slater, he caught Ware looking to end the game.

Muncy finished 2-for-5 with two runs and three RBI. Campbell and Slated both went 2-for-4, while Zach Cone, Glisson and Farmer all went 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs.

Baylor knocked off Duke, 9-3, in the first game of the day. The Bears return to action at Baylor Ballpark at 1 p.m. Saturday when they take on the Blue Devils. Georgia and Duke square off at 5 p.m.