With the go-ahead run on first, pinch-hitter Stone Lawless hit a fly ball deep to left field, and for a moment, he appeared to give Tennessee a ninth-inning lead. A moment later, the game was over, and a pack of Bulldogs spilled into the field to celebrate.

 Tennessee dramatically fell 8-7 to Georgia, dropping the road series in Athens. The Vols (14-6, 1-2 SEC) led for much of the game, but the Bulldogs (17-3, 2-1) powered ahead after a seventh-inning rally.

After slow starts in the first two games of the series, No. 19 Tennessee hit the ground running in the first inning. With two on and two out, Reese Chapman slashed a two-strike pitch down the left field line to plate Blaine Brown and Blake Grimmer. The next batter, Manny Marin, kept his bat smoking hot with a line drive up the middle that one-hopped past Georgia second baseman Ryan Black for an RBI single. 

When all was said and done, Vols’ starting pitcher Evan Blanco found himself staked to a 3-0 lead before his first pitch, and he would cruise through the early innings. The Virginia transfer retired the first nine batters he faced and struck out five.

In the top of the third, Tennessee extended its lead again. Henry Ford followed a leadoff double from Brown with a two-run shot, stroking his eighth home run of the season to make it 5-0.

Georgia would begin to create momentum with its first baserunners of the game in the fourth, but it would have to wait until the fifth to finally break through. A single, a walk and a hit batter would load the bases for the Bulldogs with one out as the lineup turned over. Tre Phelps smacked a two-out single through the left side to score two runs, cutting the deficit to three before Blanco worked out of the inning.

The next inning, Georgia clawed further back. Brennan Hudson hit a two-out solo homer to chase Blanco and make it a two-run game. The southpaw finished his day after 5.2 innings in which he allowed three runs on three hits, three walks and eight punchouts. Brayden Krenzel came into the game and struck out Cole Koniarski with a two-seam fastball to end the inning.

In the seventh, Tennessee would stretch the lead with Marin’s second RBI knock of the day to make it 6-3. However, it would strand two more runners in the inning, which kept Georgia close.

After a strikeout to open the bottom of the frame, Krenzel loaded the bases on a hit and a pair of walks. Despite two relievers getting ready in the bullpen, head coach Josh Elander stuck with Krenzel against the heart of the lineup. The righty’s next pitch was lined up the middle by Daniel Jackson for a two-run single, making it a one-run game. Elander allowed Krenzel to go a batter deeper and face pinch-hitter Bryce Callohan, who promptly smacked a game-changing three-run homer to give Georgia its first lead of the game. Within two pitches, a 6-3 Tennessee lead became an 8-6 deficit. 

Bo Rhudy came on to clean things up, easing through the next two batters. The damage had been done. 

After a quiet eighth, the Vols found life in the ninth. Grimmer led off with a solo blast to the trees in left-center to make it a one-run game. With two outs, Levi Clark rolled a single through the left side, and Elander elected to send Stone Lawless to the plate as a pinch hitter. Georgia head coach Wes Johnson countered and brought in reliever Justin Byrd, who had taken the loss in the series opener. 

On a 0-1 pitch, Lawless drilled a ball with home run aspirations to left. Left fielder Cole Johnson leapt into the air and brought the ball back into the ballpark to seal the game and cap a series win for Georgia.

Tennessee will return home for a midweek game against Eastern Kentucky on March 17.