3/25/2022 baseball Edit

No. 14 Bulldogs take series opener from Cats

Georgia's Corey Collins slid into third base as Kentucky's Chase Estep turned an unassisted double play in Friday's SEC series opener at Kentucky Proud Park. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)

Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated

Managing Editor

Joined the Cats Illustrated staff in the summer of 2017. Veteran reporter and photographer who has covered UK sports dating back to 1987.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Georgia's pitching was as good as advertised to open a three-game series on Friday night at Kentucky Proud Park.

Junior right-hander Jonathan Cannon allowed only two runs on four hits, struck out six and walked none in leading the No. 14 Bulldogs to a 4-2 win over the Wildcats.

Cannon (5-1) is a preseason All-American and a potential first-round pick in this summer's MLB Draft. He has a 1.96 ERA on the season with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 43:1.

After tossing seven strong innings, Cannon turned it over to Jaden Woods, a lefty who recorded a strikeout on five of his six batters retired to earn his first save of the season.

Georgia (18-4, 3-1 SEC) got just enough offense on a cold, windy night in Lexington. Josh McAllister's two-out, two-run homer in the fifth inning off UK starter Cole Stupp was the biggest blow of the night. Connor Tate added two hits and an RBI for the Bulldogs.

Stupp (2-2) allowed three runs on five hits over 5.1 innings on the mound. He matched Cannon with six strikeouts but walked four in seeing his season ERA rise to 6.31.

Kentucky (15-8, 0-4 SEC) managed just five hits, two coming off the bat of catcher Alonzo Rubalcaba. The top of the Cats' batting order went 1-for-15 on the night.

The series resumes on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

Georgia starter Jonathan Cannon delivered a pitch early in Friday's game against UK. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)