In many cases, a baseball team’s head coach getting thrown out of a game leaves the team demoralized and disoriented. However, in Georgia’s dramatic 6-4 victory over Kennesaw State, head coach Wes Johnson’s ejection from the game was exactly the spark the team needed to pull off a late-game comeback.
In the fifth and sixth innings prior to Johnson’s ejection, the Georgia hitters had struck out four times and left two runners on base, and the Bulldogs’ momentum was fading as quickly as their win probability.
Georgia trailed 4-2 entering the seventh inning. After the first pitch of the inning, Johnson was tossed by the home plate umpire for arguing about a pitch clock violation, and Johnson made sure to get his money’s worth before leaving the field.
“We had to get them jump-started,” Johnson said after the game. “We had to get our offense going, and I think they obviously stepped up there late.”
Johnson’s fiery outburst ignited the team, and two batters later, Slate Alford unloaded on a 1-2 offering, dispatching it into the night sky, sending the Georgia dugout into a frenzy and cutting Kennesaw State’s lead to 4-3. The following inning, Ryan Black, making his Bulldog debut, reached down and hammered a low fastball over the right field wall to tie the game.
Georgia right-hander Tyler McLoughlin followed it up with a 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning, sending the Bulldogs to the ninth with the momentum fully in their favor. True freshman Bryce Clavon got Georgia started in the ninth inning with a bloop double to center, then took third base and home on two wild pitches, putting the Bulldogs ahead.
Black delivered another clutch hit, ripping a single to right field and extending Georgia’s lead to 6-4. The Owls put the go-ahead run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth after a walk and error, but Georgia righty Brian Curley punched out two straight batters with back-breaking curveballs, sealing the win for the Bulldogs.
It didn’t lead to a loss like it did against UNC Wilmington on Sunday, but Georgia got off to another poor start against Kennesaw State. Starting pitcher Kolten Smith lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and a walk, and Johnson was forced to use seven relief pitchers to compensate.
“We gotta quit giving up four runs in the first two innings and putting our offense behind the eight ball,” Johnson said. “We’ll address that with our guys who are going out and starting, and we’ll go from there.”
In a game where Georgia needed near-perfection from its bullpen, it provided 7.1 innings with no earned runs, three hits and 14 strikeouts, giving the offense the opportunity to find its footing and put the Bulldogs in position to win.
Georgia will hold its home opener on Thursday, kicking off a four-game series against the University of Illinois Chicago.