Baseball

The Diamond Dogs continued to sputter dropping their eighth straight and second in a row to SEC East foe Vanderbilt 9-2 Saturday afternoon.

It’s as if the season is ending the exact opposite way it began. The Diamond Dogs raced to an historic 14-0 start but now run the risk of finishing it on a 0-14 losing streak.

Yeah, not likely I know, but when the Dogs dropped their third consecutive in this gruesome stretch who amongst us thought we’d be talking about trying to end an 8 game nose dive?

“Baseball is a cruel and humbling sport and we are in a bad place right now,” Georgia coach David Perno said. “We just have to hang in there because things are going to get better. We have good players; we just have to turn the tides and get things going our way again.”

Sounds like Coach Perno has got the stick pulled all the way back and is now just praying that he gets the nose up in time.

Next up for the Diamond Dogs is Georgia Tech Tuesday evening at Turner Field.
A win over the Jackets would be about the best way I can think of to end a nasty losing streak.

Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse the Gators unleash a deluge of runs in the ninth inning to complete a sweep of the reeling Diamond Dogs.

The Bulldogs (33-15, 14-10 SEC) led 7-3 when the Gators (34-14, 16-8 SEC) scored a run in the eighth, then pulled to within 7-5 on a passed ball with one out in the ninth. Tucker then gave Florida its first lead on his 11th home run of the season. The Gators added two more runs in the inning and handed Georgia its fifth straight SEC loss and sixth overall. Florida now holds a two-game lead over the Bulldogs in the SEC East.

What a difference a weekend makes. With two series left to go the Diamond Dogs now find themselves two games behind the Gators in the SEC East.

The Diamond Dogs desperately need a W to get this thing back in between the lines.

Image:Lesley Onstott

Matt Cerione, the hero of the first game of the series with Arkansas, put on the cape again to deliver a walk-off double in Georgia’s 4-3 win over Arkansas.

With the score tied at 3-3, pinch hitter Chase Davidson drew a one-out walk in the ninth, and was lifted for Starr as a pinch runner. Cerione then hit a rocket past Jacob House, the Arkansas first baseman, and Starr narrowly beat the throw home to give Georgia its third straight one-run win in league play.

The Diamond Dogs go for the sweep today at 2:00 p.m at Foley.

Image: Manning/ABH

The Diamond Dogs fell back down to earth at Foley yesterday. They dropped a 7-5 decision that allowed the Tigers from Baton Rouge to claim the much hyped weekend series. Up next on the schedule… the Winthrop Eagles.

The stalwart David Hale challenges the limits of hypertext with his epic recap of the week past in UGA athletics. There is a paragraph on each sport and each paragraph contains all the links you need to be brought up to speed. Beware, your browser may explode from all of the tabs you’ll be opening.

Bernie hits the nail on the head re:Logan Gray in his G-Day profile of said signal caller. Underestimated and overlooked by pundits seduced by the Rivals ratings of incoming freshman, Gray figures to use the snubs as motivation to elbow his way into the QB rotation for some substantial minutes.

Oh yeah, there is going to be an NCAA basketball champion being crowned tonight in Detroit. Given the fact that UNC has already destroyed Michigan State once this season, the Spartans figure to be a huge underdog. ACC-SEC Blog weighs in with their prediction.

Bill from Football on the Brain talks a Gator down from the ledge after a temporary bout of Kiffinitis; the disease that allows you to believe that Lane Kiffin isn’t really a knucklehead, he’s just brilliantly manipulating the psyche of his opponents to his advantage. I’m with Bill, he’s a knucklehead.

Jeff Schultz weighs in on the Mark Fox hire. And yes, he calls UGA basketball “fish sticks”.

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Top-ranked Georgia held off Clemson in a 6-5 victory over the Tigers at Foley Field tonight. Dean Weaver got the final out with the tying run on first.

All in all Coach Perno thought the Dogs did just enough.

“We were good enough to win tonight,” Georgia coach David Perno said. “They had better pitching; he was a weekend starter for them, but I was proud of our guys. We need more out of the offense in the future. I didn’t see the fire.”

The Diamond Dogs push their record to 23-3. Clemson will get another shot at the top team in the land tomorrow night at 7:00pm. The game will will be televised by CSS.

Any win over Clemson is always more than just a win.

Image: Mike Johnson

Georgia barely held on 4-3 in Knoxville today to complete their second straight conference sweep.

Top-ranked Georgia used a four run fifth highlighted by a two-run home run by Joey Lewis to complete a sweep of Tennessee with a 4-3 victory Sunday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The Bulldogs improved to 24-3 overall and won their seventh straight SEC game to move to 7-2 in league action.

A sweep, on the road in the SEC is always an achievement. There will be no time to pat themselves on the back though as the Diamond Dogs will play a quick home and home against the Clemson Tigers starting on Tuesday at 7:00pm at Foley Field.

Image: Eric Eley

After defeating Tennessee 11-9 the Diamond Dogs are one win away from their second consecutive sweep of a conference opponent.

It’s looking like Jonathan Crompton will be the number one quarterback for Team Kiffin.

Football on the Brain doesn’t see what’s so awful about playing the Georgia-Florida game in Atlanta once every four years. I know it’s unpopular, and will probably never happen anyway, but I agree. Let the Gayturds endure the logistics of an away game and have it called “neutral” every now and then. Sheesh.

Nick Montana, son of NFL legend Joe Montana, told the AJC he is serious about playing the for the Dawgs. There are lots of reasons but he really likes the Georgia’s style of offense and it doesn’t hurt that we’re about to be able to lay claim to the first selection in the 2009 NFL draft.

The Macon Telegraph knows that despite losing two first rounders off of the offense, in 2009 it will be all about the defense.

In a conversation with the AJC’s Jeff Schultz former UGA basketball coach Hugh Durham talks about the great opportunity Georgia hoops represents for the next man to occupy the top job.

On the subject of basketball, Georgia Sports Blog profiles the new favorite to be leading the Dogs onto the hardcourt next year, Missouri’s Mike Anderson.

Jeff Owens is back in a blogging mood lately. His latest post, an ode to the Bulldog Nation, is well worth a read.

While 49ers legend Joe Montana was cruising around Athens with his son, his former team said they’d probably pass on Stafford based on some cockamamie psychobabble. Bizarre.

Bubba ‘n Earl have a great post on restoring the Clemson rivalry. I say “no thanks”. We’ve already got a permanent ACC opponent and a neutral field game gumming up the schedule. One every ten years or so for the novelty is just right.

Have a great Sunday. Enjoy the sunshine and Go Diamond Dogs!

Georgia caught fire in the early innings of Friday night’s series opening win versus the Tennessee Volunteers.

Thanks to a spate of early home runs, Georgia jumped out to an 11-0 lead against Tennessee on Friday before settling for a 12-6 win in the opener of a three-game series.

What is there to say about the Diamond Dogs? They’re on quite a tear. Based on what we’ve seen since the last game of the Alabama series I tend to thing the Vols have about as much chance as my bracket has in the office pool.

It’s just too bad the game against the hearts of darkness got cancelled on Wednesday.

Wright State came into Foley Field andhad their way with an out of sorts Diamond Dogs squad. They left Athens with an 8-5 win over the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.

Not to make excuses, but isn’t it obvious? The Dogs have a big date with Georgia Tech tomorrow night and paid the price for being heavily distracted.

“We were flat tonight,” said head coach David Perno. “We slept walked for five innings and then tried to come back with more intensity. There are no excuses but we have to look ahead at Georgia Tech now. We’re still in it, and these guys have to grow up. Unfortunately we have to learn the lesson the hard way. We’ll bounce back.”

Is there another sport where you’d be playing a game the day before you play a huge game against your in-state rival? That’s a tough putt for sure and we’ll all be looking for a more stalwart effort tomorrow night against the hated bees. Assuming it doesn’t get rained out.

Image: Courtney Davies

The Diamond Dogs managed to turn a potentially disastrous sweep into a mere bumpy start to the rugged SEC schedule by defeating Alabama 10-8 in Tuscaloosa on Sunday.

The Dogs got ahead 7-0 early, quickly lost the lead, then rallied in the 6th to go ahead by the final margin.

“We’ve been waiting for someone to do what we’re capable of doing and we got it today,” said head coach David Perno. “The bullpen was great. Our character was tested today and we answered. You don’t want to go home 0-3. One is so much better than none. If you come out of here with nothing it’s tough to overcome.”

Up next on the schedule for the Dogs is a Wednesday match-up at Georgia State. After that it’s back to the SEC grind with a home stand this weekend at Foley against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.