Georgia baseball makes SEC championship with 8-7 victory over Florida
· Yahoo Sports
The Georgia Bulldogs' baseball team (45-12) had an exciting entrance into the SEC championship. They won against the No. 4 Florida Gators (39-19) 8-7, but the Gators made them earn it, with the Bulldogs having to come back from behind 6-0.
The game became 6-0 for Florida as early as the third inning. In the first, Gators left fielder Blake Cyr hit a solo shot to center field to make it 1-0. The onslaught happened in the third inning, with Florida scoring two runs on a Cyr single and three on a home run from designated hitter Caden McDonald to make it 6-0.
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The Bulldogs then scored four unanswered runs to make it a game. The fourth saw a sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Cole Hudson, a double from second baseman Kolby Branch, and a double from right-fielder Ryan Black to make it 6-3. In the fifth, a wild pitch got catcher Daniel Jackson to score from third to make it 6-4.
Georgia still had a slight hill to overcome, and that hill became even bigger when Florida's Cyr drove in another run off a single in the seventh. Georgia was down 7-4, and it looked like the regular-season SEC champions were going to suffer an early defeat in the tournament.
Then, in the bottom of the seventh, left fielder Kenny Ishikawa doubled to left field, scoring two runs and making it 7-6. The eighth would complete the comeback for Georgia. Branch reached on an error, and Black doubled to left center, setting the game-tying run at third and the game-winning run at second. Two straight sacrifice flies came from the bats of Tre Phelps and Jackson, and the Bulldogs had an 8-7 lead.
Justin Byrd gunned down the Gators 1-2-3 to complete the comeback. He earned the win as a result, improving his record to 4-2. Florida's Joshua Whritenour earned the loss, diminishing his record to 3-4. The Bulldogs outhit the Gators 12-8, but it was a few sacrifice flies and an error that helped them earn the comeback in the end.
Georgia will face Arkansas in the 2026 SEC championship, and the game will take place on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. on ABC and the SEC Network. This win against Florida all but secures a home regional and potentially a home super regional, but if Georgia wins the SEC, they could be the No. 1 team in the nation.
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Georgia baseball makes SEC championship with 8-7 win vs. Florida