Fans show out for in-state rivalry at SRP Park
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - With a forecast of showers and storms Tuesday night, the first pitch between Georgia and Georgia Southern was moved to 5 p.m. at SRP Park.
While the time change could have affected fans’ arrival time, the park was sold out and filled with fans dressed in blue and red.
Georgia entered the game at 10-1. Southern entered the match with a 4-7 record. Tuesday’s meeting between the two is the fourth since 2020 to be held at the neutral site.
The Dawgs and Eagles sat empty the first two innings before Georgia got on the board off a wild pitch in the top of the third. Southern responded in the bottom of the fourth when Corey Dowdell put together a sac fly to send Jarrett Brown in.
From there until the ninth, both left runners on the bag but couldn’t plate a run.
Georgia pulled away with RBI singles from Sebastian Murillo and Paul Toetz. Slate Alford quickly followed with the Dawg’s first grand slam of the year to end the inning 7-1.
Georgia Southern couldn’t manage more than one run in the final frame, falling to their in-state foe 7-2 for the second year in a row at SRP. They now split the series 2-2 since 2020.
While the CSRA may have been divided on apparel, there was one athlete they could all root for.
Augusta Christian’s Brett Zerbel was suited up for the Eagles.
News 12 caught up with him ahead of the game.
“I don’t get heckled here. So that’s good. It’s definitely cool because you get more of a neutral fan base. Some of my teammates came up to me and asked me how it’s gonna be and how many people are coming for you,” he said.
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