Diamond Dogs Defeat Arkansas-Little Rock to Remain Alive in NCAA Baseball Regional

After Michael Palazzone pitched well in defeat on Friday, Alex Wood earned the win with an eight-inning, eight-strikeout performance on Saturday during which he held Arkansas-Little Rock to three earned runs in the Diamond Dogs’ 7-3 victory.

Wood’s roughest canto came in the bottom of the fifth frame, when a quartet of two-out singles and a wild pitch added up to a trio of runs for the Trojans. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, took an immediate lead in the opening stanza off of a leadoff home run by second baseman Levi Hyams.

Georgia padded its advantage in the fifth inning, when Hyams led off with a base hit and swiped second. Left fielder Zach Cone brought him home with a first-pitch single, and, with two aboard, designated hitter Brett DeLoach sent a long ball to right field to make the score 5-0.

After UALR pulled to within two in the bottom of the canto, the Athenians once again distanced themselves in the upper half of the sixth frame. Back-to-back one-out doubles by right fielder Peter Verdin and Hyams put two runners in scoring position, the first of whom came home on a two-out wild pitch. After shortstop Kyle Farmer drew a walk on four pitches, a fielding error on a failed pickoff attempt allowed Hyams to score an unearned run.

Alex Wood contributed a solid performance on the mound, but the Diamond Dogs also produced at the plate, where Zach Cone (2 for 4, 1 RBI), Brett DeLoach (1 for 4, 3 RBI), and Levi Hyams (4 for 5, 1 RBI) paced an effort that included a couple of doubles and a pair of home runs.

Georgia will be back in action at 4:00 tomorrow afternoon to face the loser of tonight’s tilt between the Creighton Bluejays and the Oregon St. Beavers.

Go ‘Dawgs!