Diamond Dogs Prep For SEC Season

A few baseball tidbits as Georgia gets set to officially open up the SEC season with a weekend series at Foley Field against Auburn…

-- Georgia's weekend rotation will be Michael Palazzone (3-1, 7.85 ERA) on Friday, Justin Grimm (1-1, 5.40) on Saturday and Jeff Walters (0-1, 8.83) on Sunday.

-- Palazzone has been up and down this season, but he went five good innings, allowing two runs, in a win over Siena last week.

-- While Georgia was thumped in Tuscaloosa by a score of 13-2 earlier in the year, this marks the Diamond Dogs' first official SEC games. Auburn comes in at 11-5 overall, but the Tigers haven't been tested outside of a weekend series at No. 1 Arizona State last week in which they were swept in three straight.

-- While Georgia's 8-9 record is certainly nothing to be too excited about, there have been a few reasons for optimism going forward. First off, Georgia has played the fewest home games of any SEC team to this point in the season -- just eight total. Secondly, the Dawgs haven't exactly played an easy schedule, facing off against Alabama, Georgia Tech and Florida State -- all top-25 teams -- as well as games against Baylor and Duke, which are both in the "others receiving votes" category.

-- Of course, the two biggest issues facing Georgia have been injuries and pitching. The Dawgs haven't fielded their full projected starting lineup yet this season, but that could change soon.

On shortstop Levi Hyams, who has been in the lineup but limited offensively, head coach Dave Perno said there has been steady improvement. "It looks like he's getting closer to being able to swing and be competitive at the plate," Perno said. "He's still been productive for us from a standpoint of being able to get bunts down, he can run the bases, drew a walk, got hit by a pitch. So he's still doing some things, and just having him out there defensively is huge."

Infielder Kyle Farmer injured his wrist against Stetson in late February, and Perno said he's getting closer, too. "He looks to be probably seven to 10 days away from being able to help us," Perno said. "Defensively, maybe sooner."

Sophomore Chase Davidson should be available this weekend.

-- Of course, while a healthy Diamond Dogs will no doubt be an improved Diamond Dogs, Perno said it still comes back to that starting pitching...

"Things are starting to come on the mend, and I think that's given this team a lift, and like any team, I think you're only as good as your starting pitching," Perno said. "Our guys, the first two weekends, were very good, and we were very good. We were very competitive considering no Hyams, no Davidson, and then we lost Farmer. But our starting pitching was good, so we thought we were OK. But then our starting pitching went South in Week 3, and we looked completely lost. Then it's started to come back around for us lately, and we look better. Once it all comes together, I think we can be pretty good."

Diamond Dogs Open Home Slate Tomorrow

Georgia's Diamond Dogs kick off their home schedule tomorrow at Foley Field against Presbyterian at 5 p.m. Tickets are $8 or $5 for general admission.

And as a quick primer for the game and the season, here are some "fast facts," courtesy of the UGA Athletics Dept...

The Bulldogs play their home opener Wednesday, Feb. 24 against Presbyterian at 5 p.m. Live streaming video of the game will be available to GXtra subscribers. Wednesday’s game will start a four-game homestand. Georgia’s longest homestand this year is five games. Georgia will play 27 games on the road. Next week, they face Alabama in Birmingham and then head to Florida State.

Georgia (2-2) opened a season on the road for the first time since 2002 and came away with a 2-2 mark against host Baylor and Duke. Georgia played four games in three days including a doubleheader on Sunday. Georgia went 1-1 versus Baylor and 1-1 versus Duke.

Georgia’s starting lineup featured five sophomores and four freshmen in three of the four games this past weekend in Waco, Texas. Five of the 13 pitchers who saw action were newcomers.

UGA sophomore CF Zach Cone batted an impressive .688 in the weekend tournament at Baylor (11-for-16) including hitting for the cycle in Saturday’s loss to Duke. He was the first Bulldog to hit for the cycle in six seasons (Josh Smith vs. UNC-Wilmington). He tied his career-high with a pair of four-hit games and played flawless defense with six putouts and two assists in the series.
UGA sophomore LF Johnathan Taylor nearly matched his RBI total from his freshman season. He drove in seven runs to go with a .357 average in the four games plus drew six walks, stole two bases, registered seven putouts and one assist. Last year in 123 at bats, Taylor hit .309 with 10 RBI.

UGA SS Kyle Farmer led the freshmen starters with a .375 average (6-for-16, 3 doubles) in the season-opening tournament. He played solid defense with five putouts, 18 assists and one error.
The Bulldog lineup was missing two starters this past weekend in first baseman and cleanup hitter Chase Davidson (elbow injury) and second baseman Levi Hyams (out for the first six games due to violation of team rules). Davidson is listed as day-to-day.

Georgia is 7-0 all-time versus Presbyterian including a pair of wins (8-1, 11-4) last season at Foley Field. The Blue Hose (1-2) fell to Appalachian State and USC Upstate on Friday and Saturday before bouncing back with a 3-2 win over USC Upstate in their home opener Sunday. Junior 2B Mack Hite leads PC at .417-0-1, going 4-for-4 Sunday. A Blue Hose is a fierce, Scottish warrior -- think Braveheart.

Georgia plans to get several pitchers work Wednesday with junior RHP Eric Swegman scheduled to start. It will be his Bulldog debut. Swegman, a 6-6, 208-pound native of Cumming, Ga., was a 28th round draft pick by Atlanta in 2009. Last year at Young Harris Junior College, he went 7-2 with a 4.59 ERA in 13 starts. PC will start senior RHP Jesse Harmon (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

Veazey Paralyzed From Waist Down

Doctors updated the media today on the condition of Georgia secondbaseman Chance Veazey. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend, but the AJC has the full story. It's an absolutely awful situation for a kid who had a whole lot ahead of him before this accident, but he sounds like he's keeping a positive attitude, which is good to see.

I mentioned this on the blog yesterday, but if you're interested in helping the Veazey family through a monetary donation or you just want to keep up with Veazey's progress, here's the information you'll need:

In lieu of flowers and food, the family has set up a “Prayers for Chance” fund to help offset medical expenses through Athens First Bank and Trust Company (AFB&T). Donations may be sent to AFB&T, attention Phil Bettendorf, Senior Vice President, P.O. Box 1747, Athens, Ga., 30603. Donations can also be dropped off at any Athens First Bank location.

A website where individuals can send Chance messages and check for updates has been set up by the family. To send a note to Chance and the family, please visit: www.caringbridge.org/visit/chanceveazey.

Baseball Kicks Off Fall Practice

From UGA release...

The University of Georgia baseball team will begin fall practice Sunday featuring a nine-inning scrimmage slated for 3 p.m. at Foley Field. All scrimmages are free and open to the public.

The Bulldogs will practice this month and most of October with plenty of scrimmages scheduled. The annual Dawgs-Pups World Series is set for Oct. 4-11. The scrimmages will range from seven to 10 innings.

A total of 10 pitchers will see action Sunday. Seniors Alex McRee and Jeff Walters will be the starters and pitch two innings apiece. McRee went 4-4 with a 6.27 ERA in 15 games last season including 13 starts. Walters posted a 2-0 mark, one save and a 4.64 ERA in 27 appearances including two starts in 2009.

Walters will start for the home team that also will feature sophomore returning starters Zach Cone (OF), Johnathan Taylor (OF) and Chase Davidson (1B/DH). McRee will start for the visitors, and their lineup includes returning starters Lyle Allen (LF), Colby May (3B), Peter Verdin (C/OF) and Levi Hyams (SS).

Walters, McRee, Earls Return As Deadline Passes

From UGA release...

Monday's midnight signing deadline for players selected in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player draft yielded no surprises for the University of Georgia baseball program.

The Bulldogs welcome back three pitchers drafted in Jeff Walters (17th round, Baltimore Orioles), Alex McRee (26th round, Los Angeles Dodgers), and Justin Earls (47th round, Pittsburgh Pirates). The trio returns for their senior season, and they will be part of a veteran pitching staff expected to anchor the 2010 club. McRee has a 13-9 career record in 65 appearances including 19 starts. Walters, who has been drafted four times in his career, went 2-0 with a 4.64 ERA in 27 appearances including two starts last season. Earls is 4-6 in 80 appearances including six starts.

Georgia returns 10 pitchers who saw action last season including Justin Grimm (4-4, 4.15 ERA) who is projected to be a premium pick in the 2010 draft.

"One plus for the 2010 team will be our experience on the mound," said Georgia coach David Perno. "We're going to lean on our veterans. We're happy to have them back. Offensively, we'll have a different look compared to the last few years. We'll have one of our youngest lineups probably since 2007, and we'll need to have a great fall practice."

Georgia led the country with a school record 11 players drafted this past June, and eight turned professional including five starting position players. Junior first baseman Rich Poythress, the team's triple crown winner last season at .376-25-86, headlines the group that concluded their Georgia career. He was a second round pick of the Seattle Mariners. The other four starters who signed were juniors Joey Lewis (.282-19-58), Matt Cerione (.291-12-43) and Michael Demperio (.252-3-14) plus senior Bryce Massanari (.305-19-57). Pitchers Trevor Holder (7-5, 4.48 ERA), Dean Weaver (3-2, 3.60 ERA, 10 Saves) and Will Harvil (4-3, 3.54 ERA) also signed.

Georgia held on to four members of its incoming recruiting class that went in the draft. Pitcher Eric Swegman (Atlanta Braves, 28th round), outfielder Zach Taylor, (Pittsburgh Pirates, 31st round), pitcher Jake Montgomery (Atlanta Braves, 32nd round) and pitcher Malcolm Clapsaddle (Baltimore Orioles, 34th round) all reported to campus and attended classes Monday. However, pitcher Zach Dotson (13th round, New York Mets) and catcher/infielder Miles Head (26th round, Boston Red Sox) opted to sign a professional contract.

The Bulldogs begin fall practice Sept. 13 at Foley Field and open the 2010 season on Feb. 19 with a doubleheader against Baylor and Duke in Waco, Texas.

Six More Dawgs Drafted

From UGA Athletics...

Georgia junior pitcher Dean Weaver, junior outfielder Matt Cerione, junior pitcher Jeff Walters, junior infielder Michael Demperio, junior pitcher Alex McRee and senior catcher/designated hitter Bryce Massanari were selected on the second day of the Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday.

Weaver was taken in the seventh round by the Washington Nationals, Cerione in the 13th round by the Seattle Mariners, Walters in the 17th round by the Baltimore Orioles, Demperio in the 25th round by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, McRee in the 26th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Massanari in the 30th round by the Colorado Rockies.

A record total of eight Bulldogs have been drafted in the first 30 rounds. The First-Year Player draft will conclude with the final 20 rounds on Thursday.

Beckham Gets the Call

From UGA Athletics...

Former Georgia All-America shortstop and 2008 SEC Player of the Year Gordon Beckham has been called up by the Chicago White Sox and will join the team Thursday for their game against Oakland.

Beckham, the fourth member of the 2008 draft class to reach the majors, hit .326 with four home runs, 23 doubles and 25 RBI in 45 games this season with Triple-A Charlotte and Double-A Birmingham. He is the fastest member of the Chicago White Sox to reach the majors since Alex Fernandez in 1990. Beckham, who had just been promoted to Triple-A Charlotte last week, will reach the majors 364 days after being drafted last June.

"I talked to Gordon and he's excited," Georgia coach David Perno said. "It's obviously quick but if anyone I've ever coached can handle it it's Gordon. He's had something special about him from day one. From a maturity and a talent standpoint he is definitely ready, and I am looking forward to watching him."

Consistency is a Virtue for Grimm

Justin Grimm hasn't always been great, but he's been good enough that David Perno knows what he can expect from his sophomore right-hander -- and that's what's important this time of year.

Grimm is expected to get the start in Georgia's opener in the regionals against Ohio State just as he did in the SEC tournament opener, and no one will be happier than Perno if he gets the same results.

"He's been pretty good for us all year," Perno said of Grimm. "He's had a couple disappointing outings, but for the most part he's been pretty steady, throws strikes, has an electric arm, and he's been getting better every time out."

Grimm, who had served as Georgia's third starter most of the season, pitched 5 1/3 innings against Ole Miss in the SEC tourney opener, allowing just one earned run in a 6-3 Bulldogs win, which when combined with the recent struggles of No. 2 starter Alex McCree, made him an obvious selection to man the rubber against the Buckeyes on Friday. Ace Trevor Holder is expected to pitch Game 2.

"It just matches," Perno said of his projected starters. "Game 2 is probably the most important game of a regional because if you lose Game 1, you've got to win Game 2 to stay alive. And if you win Game 1, you need Game 2 or you're right back to where you started."

Grimm is 3-4 on the season with a 4.19 ERA, but he has been Georgia's most consistent starter during the past few weeks. Just as importantly, he has shown a knack for versatility, which means he'll likely be the choice to pitch Monday, too, should the Bulldogs need a third game to advance to Super Regionals.

"If it gets pushed to Monday, he'll be able to bounce back on two days, and Trevor's probably not as resilient as him," Perno said.

McRee Banished to Pen

After serving as Georgia's No. 2 starter for most of the season, McRee has been demoted to bullpen duty for the postseason, where Perno hopes the junior can right himself in lower-pressure situations.

"It'll help him," Perno said. "You can get away with more in the bullpen. We can cover him up, have someone else ready if he's throwing the ball all over the place or can't get outs. As a starter, you just can't get off to the type of starts that he's been giving us."

After a 7-1 sophomore campaign, McRee stepped quickly into the No. 2 starter role this season and was dominant in the early going. Although he battled mono for a while, missing several starts early in the season, he jumped out to a 4-0 start with a 2.15 ERA through April 18. Since then, however, things have fallen apart.

McRee was on the mound against Ole Miss on April 25, but failed to get through the fourth inning. Georgia lost a 10-8 decision, the start of a stretch of 11 losses in 13 games. While there was plenty of blame to go around during the losing streak, McRee has been dismal. In his past five starts, he has made it through five innings just once and has allowed 32 runs in 17.2 innings, walking 13. His ERA has risen from 2.15 to 6.34 with the low point coming last Saturday in the SEC tournament against LSU. McRee faced just 10 batters before being lifted after only two-thirds of an inning, allowing seven earned runs in a 16-0 Georgia loss.

McRee pitched from the pen in Georgia's College World Series run last year, going 1-0 with a 4.70 ERA in five relief appearances.

McRee last five starts (all UGA losses):

Opp.	Innings	Hits	Runs	ER	BB	Ks
LSU	2/3	5	7	7	1	0
S. Car	3	5	7	7	4	4
Vandy	6	7	7	7	2	5
Fla	4 2/3	8	5	4	2	8
Miss	3 1/3	7	6	5	4	4
Total	17 2/3	5	32	30	13	21

UGA Heading to Tallahassee

From UGA Athletics Dept...

(NOTE: Find all regional brackets HERE.)

The Georgia baseball team has been selected as the No. 2 seed in the Tallahassee Regional and the Bulldogs will face the No. 3 seed Ohio State on Friday. Florida State is the No. 1 seed and Marist is the No. 4 seed.

The Bulldogs are making their 10th NCAA postseason appearance including the fifth under David Perno, who has taken more Georgia teams to the postseason than any other baseball coach in school history. Georgia made the NCAA District Playoffs in 1953 and has since made eight regional appearances (1987, 1990, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2004 2006 and 2008).

Georgia is 45-26 overall in the NCAA postseason including 25-10 all-time in NCAA Regionals and 8-3 in Super Regionals. Georgia has won six NCAA Regionals (1987, 1990, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008). In their last five NCAA postseason appearances, the Bulldogs have advanced to the College World Series four times. The Bulldogs won thrilling NCAA Baseball Regionals in Athens in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2008 on their way to the College World Series, and this marks the first time since 2002 Georgia will go on the road for a regional.

The Bulldogs have advanced to the College World Series six times (1987, 1990, 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2008). Georgia won the 1990 national championship and finished runner-up in the College World Series last year. Currently, the Bulldogs are 37-22 and have won 82 games over the last two seasons, which is the second-highest two-year win total in school history.

Video Blog: Holder on SEC Tourney

Georgia ace Trevor Holder talks about rebounding from a couple rough outings in time to make his first start in the SEC tournament today.

Cerione Lifts Dawgs

From UGA Athletics...

Matt Cerione's grand slam in the top of the sixth gave Georgia a 4-1 lead and the Bulldogs held on for a 6-3 win over Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC Tournament Wednesday at Regions Park.

The No. 6 seed Bulldogs (36-20) advance to face No. 7 seed Arkansas Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern. The Razorbacks defeated No. 2 seed Florida, 8-5.

Cerione finished with five RBI while Zach Cone and Peter Verdin had two hits apiece.. It was the Bulldogs' first win in an SEC Tournament game since 2006.

Justin Grimm (3-4) earned the win after holding Ole Miss to two runs--one earned--on eight hits in 5.1 innings.

"Justin got off to a good start and threw the ball extremely well," Georgia coach David Perno said. "He's been pitching well the last several weeks and he continued that today. We're trying to get back to playing good baseball, and we got off to a good start here."

Video Blog: David Perno

As the Bulldogs get set to take on Ole Miss in their first game of the SEC tournament, head coach David Perno discusses what his team needs to accomplish to get back on track for the postseason.

Four Dawgs Make All-SEC

From UGA Athletics...

Georgia junior first baseman Rich Poythress along with senior Bryce Massanari, freshman Colby May and senior pitcher Trevor Holder earned 2009 All-SEC honors as voted on by the league coaches, it was announced Tuesday.

Here's the complete team:

FIRST TEAM
1B - Rich Poythress, Georgia
2B - Ross Wilson, Alabama; Josh Adams, Florida
3B - Jake Smith, Alabama
SS - Josh Rutledge, Alabama; Brian Harris, Vanderbilt
C - Blake Forsythe, Tennessee
OF - *Kent Matthes, Alabama
OF - Avery Barnes, Florida
OF - Jordan Henry, Ole Miss
DH - Blake Dean, LSU
P - *Louis Coleman, LSU
P - Austin Hyatt, Alabama
RP - Matty Ott, LSU

SECOND TEAM
1B - Nick Ebert, South Carolina
2B - Chris Bisson, Kentucky
3B - Joseph Sanders, Auburn
SS - Chris Wade, Kentucky; Bobby Haney, South Carolina
C - Justin Dalles, South Carolina
OF - Steven Liddle, Vanderbilt
OF - DeAngelo Mack, South Carolina
OF - Ryan Schimpf, LSU
DH - Bryce Massanari, Georgia
P - Scott Bittle, Ole Miss
P - Anthony Ranaudo, LSU; Drew Pomeranz, Ole Miss
RP - Billy Bullock, Florida

ALL FRESHMAN TEAM
1B - *Preston Tucker, Florida
2B - Riley Reynolds, Vanderbilt
3B - Colby May, Georgia
SS - Zach Osborne, Tennessee
OF - Taylor Dugas, Alabama
OF - Mikie Mahtook, LSU
OF - Jackie Bradley, Jr., South Carolina
DH - Aaron Westlake, Vanderbilt
P - Nick Routt, Mississippi State
P - Nolan Belcher, South Carolina
RP - *Matty Ott, LSU

ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM
P - Trevor Holder, Georgia
1B - Rich Poythress, Georgia
2B - Ross Wilson, Alabama
SS - Bobby Haney, SC; Brian Harris, Vanderbilt
3B - Jake Smith, Alabama
C - Micah Gibbs, LSU
OF - Matt den Dekker, Florida
OF - Whit Merrifield, South Carolina
OF - Trent Mummey, Auburn

Video Blog: Rich Poythress

Georgia first-baseman Rich Poythress discusses the team's recent struggles and what needs to be done for the Bulldogs to turn things around in the SEC tournament, which begins Wednesday as UGA takes on Ole Miss.

Dawgs Top Tech at Turner Field

From UGA Athletics...

Lyle Allen's one-out single in the top of the ninth scored two runs and broke a 5-5 tie as No. 15 Georgia beat No. 7 Georgia Tech 7-5 in front of 24,665 fans Tuesday at Turner Field, the sixth largest regular season crowd in college baseball history and the second largest crowd in the seven year Spring Baseball Classic for Kids.

The Bulldogs (35-17) improved to 6-1 against the Jackets (33-13-1) in the annual matchup at Turner Field and have won the last five.

Rich Poythress started the ninth-inning rally with a one-out double to center that narrowly missed leaving the park followed by an intentional walk to Bryce Massanari. Allen then roped a single up the middle that scored Poythress and a throwing error on the play allowed pinch-runner Peter Verdin to score.

Dean Weaver (3-2) closed the door in the ninth for his second win in as many games. Justin Earls tossed a season-high three scoreless innings. He faced 10 batters and retired nine, and the only batter to reach was on an error. After Matt Skole had Georgia Tech's first hit of the game with no outs in the second, Georgia pitchers held the Jackets hitless until a single by Jason Haniger to lead off the sixth.

Allen finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI and Zach Cone had two hits for Georgia. Matt Cerione and Bryce Massanari drove in two runs apiece.

"It was a big one," Georgia coach David Perno said. "We finally got in a situation where they made a couple of mistakes and gave us chance to overocome our mistakes. We played really well. (Justin) Earls changed everything, and he got control of the game. You rarely see a team not have a big inning and win but we did. Lyle (Allen) was able to get redemption with the big knock after the ball fell in the bottom of the eighth. It was a great experience for our kids and a great win."

UGA Snaps Losing Streak

From UGA Athletics...

Matt Cerione's single to left field with one out in the bottom of the ninth scored Michael Demperio from second as No. 13 Georgia snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over Vanderbilt Sunday at Foley Field.

With the win the Bulldogs (34-17, 15-12 SEC) clinched a berth in the SEC Tournament.

"This is a momentum win for a lot of reasons," Georgia coach David Perno said. "It got the monkey off our back and put us on the right foot again. This was huge for us. We've really been a good team all year and we can't let the last two weeks get us down. We've clinched postseason play and we need to carry this win on through Tuesday and next weekend."

Demperio was hit on the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth, then stole second on an 0-1 pitch to Lyle Allen. Allen was then plunked to set up Cerione's hit on a 3-2 count.

Cerione had two hits including hit his eighth home run of the year to left field in the bottom of the first to give Georgia its first lead of the weekend. Vanderbilt quickly answered as Curt Casali led off the second with a double then scored on a single by Aaron Westlake.

Georgia theatened in the third after Levi Hyams walked, moved to second on a balk, then moved to third as David Thoms grounded out on an 11-pitch at bat. However, Drew Hayes induced a pair of groundouts from Johnathan Taylor and Cerione to get out of the jam.

The Commodores took the lead on an RBI single by Riley Reynolds in the top of the fifth. In the bottom half of the inning, Georgia loaded the bases after walks to Chase Davidson and Hyams and a single by Thoms, but Grayson Garvin struck out Allen and Cerione to end the inning.

Georgia finally broke through on the first pitch in the bottom of the seventh as Joey Lewis launched his 16th home run off the batter's eye to knot the score at 2-2.

The Commodores regained the lead 3-2 in the top of the eighth when Curt Casali scored on a passed ball with two outs, but Bryce Massanari hit Georgia's third home run with one out in the eighth to make it 3-3.

Dean Weaver (2-2) worked two scoreless inning to pick up the win while Nick Christiani (5-4) took the loss. Georgia starter Justin Grimm allowed just two runs on seven hits in five innings.

"I'm really proud of the way Grimm is pitching right now," Perno said. "He came out and attacked every hitter today. The main thing was that we finally got ahead of hitters early in the count. He did a great job today as did the rest of the bullpen. Will (Harvil), Michael (Palazzone) and Dean all threw well today."

Video Blog: Trevor Holder

Georgia starting pitcher Trevor Holder talks about his team's -- and his own -- recent struggles, while getting a good bit of ribbing from his teammates.

Florida Takes Two

From UGA Athletics...

Tyler Thompson's two-out RBI single in the top of the 11th lifted No. 17 Florida to a 10-9 victory over No. 6 Georgia as the Gators completed a two-game sweep Saturday at Foley Field. The game was suspended in the bottom of the ninth on Friday and resumed after the regularly scheduled game on Saturday, which Florida also won 7-6.

Georgia (33-14, 14-9 SEC) had jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the second innning on Friday, but Florida (33-14, 15-8) rallied to tie it with two runs in the eighth before the game was halted with one out in the bottom of the ninth. The game resumed Saturday at 6:53 p.m, one hour and 50 minutes following the conclusion of Saturday's first game.

Florida now holds a one-game lead over Georgia in the SEC Eastern Division, and the Bulldogs have lost four straight SEC games.

"The thing is, we have to get things done in important situations," Georgia coach David Perno said. "Their guys are getting things done and we are just struggling. Our pitching needs to step it up. We've struggled on the mound since the Saturday game at Ole Miss. It's really tough when we're not executing and there are always people on base for them. There is little room for error when that happens.The end results have been disappointing for us so far this weekend, but if we turn things around tomorrow, we'll still at least come out of the weekend tied for first in the division."

Dean Weaver (1-2) took the loss for Georgia while Billy Bullock (2-2) earned the win for the Gators.

In the first game of the day, Florida scored two runs in each of the three middle innings and held on to beat Georgia 7-6. The Gators took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, and never trailed. Georgia tied it at 3-3 in the fourth, but Florida scored four straight to take a 7-3 lead. The Bulldogs got within 7-6 in the seventh but were held scoreless over the next two innings.

Florida won despite a season-high 16 strikeouts by Georgia pitchers including a career-high eight by Alex McRee.

McRee (4-1) struck out five batters through the first 1.2 innings, but Teddy Foster launched an opposite field home run with two strikes in the second to give Florida a 1-0 lead. Buddy Munroe hit a two-out home run in the fourth to give the Gators a 3-0 lead.

Georgia came back to tie it in the bottom of the fourth. Bryce Massanari hit a two-out, two-run home run to get the Bulldogs to within one, then a double by Lyle Allen scored Joey Lewis from first to tie the score at 3-3.

The Gators responded with two more runs in the fifth. After a 33 minute rain delay, Avery Barnes scored on a wild pitch, then Josh Adams scored on a bunt single by Matt den Dekker. In the sixth, Barnes tripled in another run then scored on a single by Preston Tucker to stretch Florida's lead to 7-3.

Joey Lewis cut Florida's lead to 7-5 on a two-out, two-run homer to left center in the bottom half of the inning. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, but Nick Maronde entered the game and held Georgia to just one run and kept the Gators' lead intact.

Anthony DeSclafani (5-1) earned the win and Bullock picked up his ninth save.

The two teams will play the series finale Sunday at 2 p.m. with sophomore righty Justin Grimm (2-3, 4.42 ERA) on the mound for Georgia.

Rough Start for Fields

Gordon Beckham has been turning heads all spring and looks to be a quick call-up in the White Sox organization.

Josh Fields, on the other hand, got off to a bit of a cold start.

Fields was rocked for three runs in two-thirds of an inning in his first appearance with the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx last night. He didn't allow a hit, but walked four and blew a save.

You can find the box score HERE.

Thanks to Matthew B. for sending the info along.