Fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs baseball tops #5 Vanderbilt Univserity

ATHENS, Ga. – Fourth-ranked Georgia combined on a one-hitter to beat fifth-ranked Vanderbilt 3-1 Sunday to clinch another Southeastern Conference series at Foley Field in front of a crowd of 3,045.

Facing one of the nation’s top offenses that boasted a .323 team batting average and averaged 8.4 runs a game, Georgia (27-6, 9-3 SEC) limited Vanderbilt to just one hit, a one-out double by Ty Duvall in the fifth inning. It marked Georgia’s second combined one-hitter of the year, and junior Tony Locey has been a part of both of them, pitching the first seven innings. Locey is a product of Houston County High School in Warner Robins.

Locey (5-0) tied a career-high with seven innings pitched for the third time this year, while striking out five batters. Junior right-handed pitcher Zac Kristofak pitched the final two frames to earn his second save of the year. Vanderbilt freshman Kumar Rocker (2-4) got the loss, giving up three runs on five hits in five innings, as the Commodores dropped to (24-8, 7-5 SEC).

“He’s a tough kid,” said head coach Scott Stricklin on Locey. “He was struggling to get comfortable. I mean the first inning could have been ugly; he had two guys on and found a way to get out of it. He was battling his pitch count all game. The sixth inning was key; he got in and out which allowed him to come back out for the seventh.”

In the second inning, Georgia jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Graduate designated hitter John Cable led off the inning with a double. Then sophomore first baseman Chaney Rogers also doubled, scoring Cable, followed by a single from freshman left fielder Randon Jernigan that scored Rogers for a 2-0 lead. Vanderbilt responded in the third inning, as sophomore Austin Martin grounded out to second base, scoring senior Julian Infante from third for a 2-1.

The Bulldogs added a run in the sixth inning. To begin the inning, sophomore right fielder Riley King drew a walk, and junior third baseman Aaron Schunk reached on an error. The next batter, senior second baseman LJ Talley, hit a perfectly placed ground ball single in between the first and second baseman to score King and extend the Bulldogs lead to 3-1.

The Bulldogs won their first series against Vanderbilt in 11 years when it clinched the 2008 SEC title in Nashville and first one in Athens since 2005. Also for the second time this year, Georgia dropped the opener in a top 10 SEC matchup (LSU) and came back to win the series.

Dawg Tracks

– For the second time this season, Georgia pitchers combined on a one-hitter, and Tony Locey has been a part of both of them, going the first seven innings (also did it against Presbyterian).

– At 27-6 overall, 9-3 in the SEC, Georgia is off to its best start since 2009 and claimed its first SEC series over the Commodores since 2008 when it clinched the SEC title in Nashville.

– In the first inning, Junior Tony Locey struck out his 50thbatter of the year. He also tied a career high of seven innings pitched.

– With a single in the first inning, junior Aaron Schunk now has 40 hits this season.

– Freshman Chaney Rogers extended his hitting streak to four games with an RBI double in the first inning. Senior LJ Talley also extended his hitting streak to four games with an RBI single in the sixth inning.

– Junior Zac Kristofak recorded his second save on the year.