Diamond Dogs dominate SEC series

The SEC-leading Georgia baseball team continued its dominance of conference play this weekend at LSU, extending its SEC unbeaten streak to 11 while charting two wins and a tie.
After being down 10-3 on Sunday, the Diamond Dogs stormed back with seven unanswered runs. Robbie O’Bryan, who had seen action in only six games all season, hit a two-run homer to tie the game at 10 in the ninth.
The game was called a tie after the 12th inning due to travel restrictions.
“It was a great comeback by the team, and a great tie,” said Georgia coach David Perno in a news release. “It was a tremendous effort to rally back like that and then for the bullpen to give us a chance.”
The home run was O’Bryan’s first as a Bulldog, and, after coming in as a pinch hitter, the sophomore first baseman had two RBI and two runs scored.
The Diamond Dogs (28-12, 15-3 SEC) now have won every conference series this season after coming into the weekend having only won one series with a 5-25 all-time at LSU’s Alex Box Stadium.
Georgia clinched its sixth straight SEC series win with a 9-8 victory on Saturday behind a career-high four-hit game from Matt Cerione and a pair of home runs from shortstop Gordon Beckham.
Beckham now leads the country in homers with 19, while Cerione might have snapped out of a slump that has seen him hit near the .200 mark for much of the season.
“That was a good performance from [Cerione], going 4 for 4, he made two plays in the last inning against the wall, and hopefully that confidence will continue,” Perno said.
Friday’s game saw closer Joshua Fields get his 34th career save in a 6-3 victory, giving him both the school and SEC record for saves, both of which were held by former Bulldog Cris Carpenter.


