| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Bulldogs | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0 |
| LSU Tigers | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 6 | 11 | 2 |
On a good night both for Cordy Glenn and for the Georgia men’s lacrosse team, the Diamond Dogs were poised to make it a clean sweep for the Red and Black on Friday evening. The Athenians led the Bayou Bengals in hits (12-11), committed no errors to the Tigers’ two, and held a lead on Louisiana State after seven and a half innings . . . but still David Perno’s crew found a way to lose, falling by a 6-5 final margin.
The host team scored first on a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first frame, but Georgia answered with a trio of two-out base hits to tie the game in the top of the second stanza. LSU answered in their next turn at the plate, getting the first two batters aboard and bringing them both home on a sacrifice, a first-pitch single, a wild pitch, and a full-count fielder’s choice.
Four straight base hits by third baseman Curt Powell, left fielder Conor Welton, shortstop Kyle Farmer, and catcher Brett DeLoach to start the top of the third canto pulled the Bulldogs to within one, and center fielder Peter Verdin’s subsequent one-out single knotted the score anew. The Tigers brought home an unearned run in the fourth frame on a leadoff double, a baserunner-advancing passed ball, and a one-out RBI grounder.
The Red and Black responded with two unearned runs in the fifth inning. Farmer opened the proceedings by sending the first pitch he saw up the middle for a base hit, then DeLoach muscled one through the left side. Though the Georgia shortstop was thrown out at home on right fielder Hunter Cole’s ensuing fielder’s choice, a throwing error advanced the other runners, so DeLoach was able to come home on a wild pitch. Another throwing error brought the Red and Black right fielder the rest of the way around, as well.
That was the last of the scoring until Bryan Benzor took over for Alex Wood, who had given up three earned runs and eight hits in seven stanzas. The Georgia reliever’s first pitch became a single, and his fourth was turned into a two-run shot to left field. The Classic City Canines had a final chance in the top of the ninth canto, when Powell led off with a base hit, swiped second, and moved over to third on a groundout by Welton. With the tying run 90 feet from home plate, the next two Bulldogs batters flied out and fouled out, respectively, which is all the coda this game (or, it increasingly is apparent, this season) requires.
Go ‘Dawgs!