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.

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.

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.

Just like a kid that gets that scuff on a new pair of sneakers, the Diamond Dogs are coming to terms with their first blemish on what was a perfect season before walking off the field in Tuscaloosa Saturday night.

The Crimson Tide took both games in the double-header on Saturday winning the first game 9-5 and the second 11-5.

Brandon May went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and six RBI to lead Alabama to an 11-5 victory over No. 1 Georgia in game two of a double header as the Crimson Tide won both games of the twinbill Saturday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama won the first game, 9-5, to snap Georgia’s 14-game winning streak.

“We didn’t do much of anything today,” said head coach David Perno. “We hit a couple of three-run homers and that was it. We had 12 walks in two games. It was very disappointing. We need to see how we respond tomorrow.”

This is what I feared. Are the Tide just in the Diamond Dogs’ head? They gave Georgia all kinds of fits last year. My concern here though is that the timing of this shakes the psyche of a young team flying high and it ends up throwing them off the rails for longer than just this weekend.

Yeah, I’m a worry wart. Like Coach Perno says though, “We need to see how we respond tomorrow.”

Image: Julianne Upchurch

The top-ranked Diamond Dogs continue their march through the 2009 schedule with the ease of a marauding army advancing through the vineyards of France.

First they started with a 13-5 victory in the first of two over LeMoyne. The offense stayed true to it’s profile and seriously touched up LeMoyne pitching early.

Top-ranked Georgia scored 10 runs in the first four innings and cruised to a 13-5 win over Le Moyne Wednesday at Foley Field.

The Bulldogs managed nine hits and took advantage of three Le Moyne errors to win their 13th straight game and tie the longest winning streak in the David Perno era.

Oh yeah, and there is that last part… They tied the record for consecutive wins in the Perno era.

The Diamond Dogs continued the roll with a dominating 12-0 shutout in the second game of the two game series to break the record for consecutive victories in the David Perno era.

Top-ranked Georgia scored double-digit runs for the 11th time and held Le Moyne to just two hits in a 12-0 win over the Dolphins Wednesday at Foley Field.

The Bulldogs’ 14th straight win to start the season ties the second longest winning streak in school history.

“It was great pitching today by both sides,” said head coach David Perno. “They were really on the hunt and we were able to come through. A fourteen game winning streak is impressive, but you really have to win the SEC games. Nothing we have done up to this point is really going to help us other than the confidence that it has built inside these guys.”

Perno is right to be cautious. It’s all about the SEC. Are the Dogs really this much of a juggernaut? The sweep of Arizona would seem to suggest they are. Are the ‘Cats all their cracked up to be though?

The answers to all these questions will begin to emerge when the Diamond Dogs begin the SEC schedule this weekend against Alabama.