ATHENS – Georgia’s lack of pitching depth continued to hurt it in an 8-1 loss to Clemson Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs (18-15, 3-9 SEC) struggled to get off the mat offensively and dropped their second midweek game in three weeks in a bullpen game at Foley Field.
UGA coach Scott Stricklin hoped to see a sharper version of his team after it claimed its first SEC series win over then-No. 10-ranked Kentucky.
“They came in here with some confidence, but we had confidence, too,” Stricklin said. “It’s just disappointing.”
It was the first game of Georgia and Clemson’s annual home-and-home series. The Bulldogs will visit the Tigers (20-14, 4-8 ACC) for Game Two at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday.
Clemson has faced Georgia 141 times since 1950, the second-most of any nonconference opponent.
Indeed, it’s a rivalry week of sorts for Georgia. The Bulldogs will visit No. 3 Florida this weekend, looking to ride the momentum of the Kentucky wins last weekend.
The Gators (28-6, 9-3) will mark UGA’s third top-6 opponent in five weeks. Georgia also hosts No. 5 Arkansas next weekend.
The Bulldogs drew first blood on an RBI double before allowing a seven-run outburst between the fourth and fifth innings.
Luke Wagner pitched 3.2 scoreless innings before a three-run homer gave Clemson the lead it never surrendered. The junior gave up three earned runs on four hits and a walk with a strikeout in four innings.
Zach DeVito relieved Wagner in the fifth inning and surrendered four more earned runs in 0.1 innings of work.
Midweek games have been a problem for UGA’s bullpen this season. Georgia coach Scott Stricklin has struggled to find consistent relief pitchers to rely on in nonconference games.
The Bulldogs don’t have any pitchers with a sub-3.00 ERA and have just five pitchers under 5.00.
Georgia has given up over eight runs per game in midweek contests against top-100 RPI teams.
The Bulldog hitters, who average over 10 hits per game, also had one of their weakest outings of the season. UGA mustered just five hits on the day, good for its third-lowest total on the season.
The Bulldogs also struck out 12 times, tied for the third-most this season.
“When you strike out 12 times, you’re not giving yourself an opportunity to make enough breaks,” Stricklin said. “It’s disappointing because I think this is a good lineup, but we weren’t very good tonight.”
Connor Tate led the group with the only multi-hit game. The Oconee County native was 2-for-4 hitting with an RBI double.
