After opening the season 31-7, the University of Georgia baseball team is limping home in the final few weeks.
The Bulldogs have lost 13 of their last 17 games as they get set to enter the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
This past weekend, South Carolina recorded a three-game sweep of Georgia (7-2, 7-4 and 6-1). Former Greenbrier teammates Rich Poythress and Nolan Belcher went head to head in the second game of the series.
Poythress is enjoying one of the finest seasons in Georgia baseball history, but Friday was Belcher's day.
The freshman lefty pitched into the seventh inning without yielding an earned run to one of college baseball's most prolific offenses. Belcher struck out 11, allowed only three hits and held the Bulldogs to just one unearned run as the Gamecocks won 7-4.
Belcher improved to 4-3 on the season.
The talented newcomer has made 14 appearances with 11 starts. He has a 4.99 ERA and has struck out 66 batters in just 70Q innings.
He also has helped spearhead the Gamecocks' recent hot streak. South Carolina has won seven games in a row and 10 of their last 11.
Poythress went 2-10 in the three-game series but did drive in two runs, giving him 77 RBI on the season. With his next RBI he will break the school record for RBI in a single season. He is hitting .379 with 21 homers.
Last week, the junior was named one of 16 finalists for the Dick Howser Award, which is given annually to college baseball's best player. The winner will be announced next month.
icon.