March 17, 2007
ATHENS, Ga. -
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For the second straight day runs were at a premium and for the second day in a row Georgia's Matt Olson came through with the bases loaded in the ninth for Georgia as No. 10 Auburn dropped a 3-2 decision to Georgia on Saturday at Foley Field.
The two teams combined for 16 hits on the afternoon with all of the scoring coming with two down in the inning.
"It is disappointing to start off with two losses in the SEC but we are going to be fine," Auburn Head Coach Tom Slater said. "We are a resilient group and we are going to come out and play hard tomorrow just like we have done everyday this year."
Auburn (18-5, 0-2 SEC) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Ben Jones' (0-for-3) routine fly to left with two outs was dropped by UGA left fielder Travis Parrott, allowing Josh Donaldson (1-for-4, R) to hustle home from second.
The Bulldogs (7-11, 2-0 SEC) tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the second on Mike Freeman's two-out RBI single off of Paul Burnside's leg with the bases loaded. Burnside avoided further trouble in the inning when he caught Jonathan Wyatt looking to end the inning.
After UGA took a 2-1 lead on Olson's solo homer with two down in the third, Auburn tied the game up in the next half inning on Dustin Spruill's (1-for-4, RBI) two-out RBI single that scored Ross Smith (2-for-4, R).
Georgia's ninth started with an infield hit and a fielder's choice off of Auburn reliever Chris Dennis (1-1). Dennis then got Wyatt to fly out to right for the second out of the inning and had Ryan Peisel in a similar position but Smith dropped the foul ball, giving Georgia life. Dennis then hit Peisel and walked Gordon Beckham to bring Olson to the plate. The cleanup hitter then ripped a pitch to the warning track in left-center to bring home the game-winning run.
Auburn was held to just one hit and one walk over the final five innings.
Burnside went 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks in the no-decision.
Stephen Dodson (1-1) picked up the win in relief for Georgia, throwing a perfect 2.0 innings.
The two teams will play the final game of the series at 2pm ET on Sunday.
GAME NOTES
Donaldson extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his first inning single ... It is the longest hitting streak of his career ... Auburn lost consecutive games for the first time this season ... Auburn has dropped 12 consecutive SEC games, dating to the 2006 season.