The ETSU baseball team could not hold onto a 8-1 lead as the seventh ranked Georgia Bulldogs came back to defeat the Bucs at Foley Field in Athens, Ga. on Tuesday night, 9-8.?
The Bucs (9-27, 7-14) got a good start from senior Matt McGahey (Jonesborough, Tenn.) who went five innings allowing three runs on two hits and struck out three while walking three. ETSU out-hit the Bulldogs 11-10, but could not hold an 8-1 lead as Georgia scored eight unanswered runs.?
Derek Trent (Kingsport, Tenn.) put a charge into a fastball and drove it way over the scoreboard in right field for a three-run home run to give the Bucs an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first.
In the top of the second, Chris Rankhorn (Gallatin, Tenn.) added to the Bucs lead as he drove a two-run home run over the left field fence to give the Bucs a 5-0 lead.
Georgia cut into the ETSU lead in the bottom of the second on a swinging bunt single by Lyle Allen to make the score 5-1.
Anthony Russell (Waldorf, Md.) got into the act in the top of the fourth as he hit a two-run monster shot to left center to give ETSU a 7-1 lead.
The Bucs added to the lead in the top of the sixth as Danny Petro (Atlanta, Ga.) beat out a grounder to third with two outs to drive in Jacob Fabry (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Gordon Beckham cut into the Bucs lead in the bottom of the sixth a he drove an RBI single into center to make the score 8-2. Later in the inning Allen drove in two more on a single to left field to cut the Bucs lead to 8-4.
The Bulldogs cut the Bucs lead to two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a Rich Poythress single to right center to make the score 8-6. Matt Cerione drove in a run in the bottom of the eighth to cut the Bucs lead to 8-7. Georgia tied things up in the eighth on a Matt Olson single to make the score 8-8.
In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs Beckham came in to score on a wild pitch as Petro just missed tagging him in a bang-bang play to make the final 9-8.
Rankhorn and Trent were both 2-for-3 as Rankhorn drove in two and scored two, while Trent drove in three and scored a run. With Russell’s home run he is now second in the country with 15 on the season.

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