Spring Break
Diamond Dogs offense stays hot in desert
MICHAEL FITZPATRICK
Issue date: 3/1/09 Section: Sports
TUCSON, Ariz. - The opponent and the venue may have changed, but the Georgia offense continued to fire on all cylinders in an 11-5 victory over Arizona at Frank Sancet Stadium in Tucson, Ariz., Friday night.
"This was our first road game against a real good Arizona team, a real good hitting an pitching Arizona team," designated hitter Joey Lewis said. "We had a lot of guys step up and play absolutely tremendous today and I'm proud of the way we played.
The Diamond Dogs (6-0) opened the game with a two-run first inning on an RBI ground out by first baseman Rich Poythress and an RBI single by catcher Bryce Massanari against Preston Guilmet (0-1), only to see Arizona answer with a run of its own.
The Wildcats (4-2) tied the game at 2-apiece in the third on a long home run to right field by left fielder Bobby Coyle.
The Dogs regained the lead in the fifth after plating three runs, highlighted by a Colby May RBI triple and a Poythress RBI single.
After Trevor Holder (2-0) retired the first Wildcat in the bottom of the fifth, and the 11th of the last 12, freshman center fielder Johnathan Taylor dropped a routine fly ball and led to a two-run Arizona inning to trim Georgia's led to 5-4.
"But the errors, if juniors or seniors are making them, I'd be worried, but when freshman are, they'll get better," Georgia head coach David Perno said. "I'm confident we won't make that error again."
Holder ended the inning with a strike out of Arizona catcher Dwight Childs, followed by an emphatic fist pump.
"The big thing was that we had that error and things started to spiral downhill," Holder said. "It was huge from my point of view to give my team the chance to win. I'm intense and I love pitching, especially in a hostile environment like this."
The Dogs scored runs in the sixth and seventh innings for a 7-4 lead before blowing the game open with a four-run eighth powered by the bottom of the order.
Pinch hitter Adam Fuller hit a triple down the right field line, scoring Poythress and Massanari, and two batters later left fielder Lyle Allen hit his first homer of the season, a two-run job to right field against Arizona's Joe Allison.
"That's what we are," Georgia head coach David Perno said. "Our strength is in our numbers and depth in our pitching staff and our position players and we just have to keep using them.
Georgia and Arizona resume their series Saturday at 8 p.m. with Alex McRee scheduled to start for the Dogs and Arizona will counter with junior college transfer Matt Veltmann.
Extra Bases
The team visited attended batting practice before a spring training game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox to see former Diamond Dog and White Sox prospect Gordon Beckham amongst other former Georgia players.
"It was awesome," Holder said. "It was good to see him and [Arizona] Brooks [Brown. And its always good to see Gordon and see that he's doing well and you can't beat the weather out here and it's a great place to play."
"This was our first road game against a real good Arizona team, a real good hitting an pitching Arizona team," designated hitter Joey Lewis said. "We had a lot of guys step up and play absolutely tremendous today and I'm proud of the way we played.
The Diamond Dogs (6-0) opened the game with a two-run first inning on an RBI ground out by first baseman Rich Poythress and an RBI single by catcher Bryce Massanari against Preston Guilmet (0-1), only to see Arizona answer with a run of its own.
The Wildcats (4-2) tied the game at 2-apiece in the third on a long home run to right field by left fielder Bobby Coyle.
The Dogs regained the lead in the fifth after plating three runs, highlighted by a Colby May RBI triple and a Poythress RBI single.
After Trevor Holder (2-0) retired the first Wildcat in the bottom of the fifth, and the 11th of the last 12, freshman center fielder Johnathan Taylor dropped a routine fly ball and led to a two-run Arizona inning to trim Georgia's led to 5-4.
"But the errors, if juniors or seniors are making them, I'd be worried, but when freshman are, they'll get better," Georgia head coach David Perno said. "I'm confident we won't make that error again."
Holder ended the inning with a strike out of Arizona catcher Dwight Childs, followed by an emphatic fist pump.
"The big thing was that we had that error and things started to spiral downhill," Holder said. "It was huge from my point of view to give my team the chance to win. I'm intense and I love pitching, especially in a hostile environment like this."
The Dogs scored runs in the sixth and seventh innings for a 7-4 lead before blowing the game open with a four-run eighth powered by the bottom of the order.
Pinch hitter Adam Fuller hit a triple down the right field line, scoring Poythress and Massanari, and two batters later left fielder Lyle Allen hit his first homer of the season, a two-run job to right field against Arizona's Joe Allison.
"That's what we are," Georgia head coach David Perno said. "Our strength is in our numbers and depth in our pitching staff and our position players and we just have to keep using them.
Georgia and Arizona resume their series Saturday at 8 p.m. with Alex McRee scheduled to start for the Dogs and Arizona will counter with junior college transfer Matt Veltmann.
Extra Bases
The team visited attended batting practice before a spring training game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox to see former Diamond Dog and White Sox prospect Gordon Beckham amongst other former Georgia players.
"It was awesome," Holder said. "It was good to see him and [Arizona] Brooks [Brown. And its always good to see Gordon and see that he's doing well and you can't beat the weather out here and it's a great place to play."
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