Georgia rallies past Tennessee in Athens, 8-7

Photos by Kameron Taylor, for the Albany Herald

ATHENS — The sixth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs erased an early five-run deficit and used a dramatic seventh-inning rally to defeat No. 21 Tennessee, 8-7, Sunday afternoon at Foley Field, clinching the SEC series in front of 3,039 fans.

Georgia (17-4, 2-1 SEC) trailed 5-0 after three innings but mounted a steady comeback before graduate infielder Bryce Calloway delivered the decisive blow — a three-run homer in the seventh that gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the afternoon.

The win capped a rollercoaster afternoon that ended with freshman outfielder Cole Johnson making a spectacular catch at the wall in the ninth inning to preserve the victory. The catch saved a two-run homer that would have given Tennessee the lead.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw him make that catch,” Georgia head coach Wes Johnson said. “When Cole was going back, he works on that stuff every day in batting practice. He gets after it. But when he actually made that play in that moment, it was incredible.”

Tennessee (14-6, 1-2 SEC) jumped on Georgia early. Reese Chapman delivered a two-run double in the first inning, and Henry Ford added a two-run home run in the third to give the Volunteers a 5-0 lead.

The Bulldogs finally broke through in the fifth. After Cole Koniarsky singled and Kolby Branch walked, junior Tre Phelps ripped a two-run single to left field that scored both runners and trimmed the deficit to 5-2.

Georgia kept chipping away. In the sixth inning, senior Brennan Hudson launched his 11th home run of the season, cutting Tennessee’s lead to 5-3 and extending Georgia’s streak to 11 consecutive games with at least one home run.

The decisive rally came an inning later.

After Rylan Lujo singled and Ryan Black walked, Daniel Jackson drove a single to center that brought home Lujo. A Tennessee throwing error allowed Black to score on the play, tying the game at 5-5.

Moments later, Calloway stepped to the plate and delivered the game-changing swing, crushing a three-run homer to right field that suddenly put Georgia in front 8-5.

“It’s not the good things in life that make who you are — it’s the bad stuff,” Calloway said. “When you start having that adversity and battling through it, that’s when you come back stronger. It means a lot for us to get this series.”

Tennessee wasn’t finished. The Volunteers scored in the seventh and added another run on Blake Grimmer’s home run in the ninth to cut the margin to one.

With the tying run on base and two outs, Tennessee drove a deep fly ball toward the wall in left field. Johnson tracked it down and made a leaping catch against the wall to end the game.

“I knew it was going to be right up against the wall,” Johnson said. “If it was a homer, it wasn’t going to be out by much. I was just trying to get my back to the wall as quickly as I could.”

The Bulldogs managed just seven hits but made them count, highlighted by Calloway’s three RBIs and Phelps’ two-run single. Tennessee outhit Georgia 10-7 but stranded 10 runners.

Georgia used a bullpen effort to secure the win after sophomore starter Kenny Ishikawa allowed four runs in two innings. Senior Matt Scott (3-0) earned the victory with three innings of relief, striking out four while allowing one run, and Justin Byrd recorded the final out for his second save of the season.

Georgia will return to action Tuesday afternoon when the Bulldogs host The Citadel at Foley Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on SEC Network+.