No. 19/19 Tennessee dropped a heartbreaker, 8-7, in Sunday's series finale at No. 6/8 Georgia on rainy day at Foley Field.
A promising start turned sour in the late innings when the Bulldogs (17-4, 2-1 SEC) quickly turned a three-run deficit into a two-run lead with a five-run explosion in the seventh inning.
The Vols' (14-6, 1-2 in SEC) rallied in the ninth, pulling back within a run thanks to a leadoff Blake Grimmer home run. A two-out single by Levi Clark kept the game alive and put the tying run on base, but defensive replacement Cole Johnson robbed a would-be go ahead two-run homer off the bat of pinch hitter Stone Lawless to end the game.
Reese Chapman had a two-run double for the Vols. Henry Ford belted a two-run homer.
Tennessee starter Evan Blanco put together another solid start, tossing 5.2 innings with eight strikeouts while allowing only three hits, but the Bulldogs were able to make those hits count, scoring three runs against the senior left-hander in the fifth and sixth innings to pull within two.
The key blow for Georgia was a three-run homer by Bryce Calloway off Tennessee reliever Brayden Krenzel.
UP NEXT
Tennessee returns home for five straight games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, starting with a Tuesday midweek battle against Eastern Kentucky at 6 p.m.