Georgia sports for Tuesday, Jun. 3rd

NCAA Baseball Tournament--Georgia/Georgia Tech

The Georgia Bulldogs have moved-on in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. They did so on their home field with a big victory over their rival Georgia Tech--the final of 18-6 last night in Athens. Georgia won games over Tech’s Yellow Jackets Sunday and Monday to advance to the Super Regional round of the NCAA’s. The Bulldogs will host a best-of-3 series against North Carolina State this coming weekend.

Atlanta Braves--

The Braves are back home, and that means back on the winning track. Shortstop Yunel Escobar ripped a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning for the Braves’ 7-5 win over the Florida Marlins last night in Atlanta. The game also featured the return of John Smoltz after 5 weeks on the disabled list. In his 9th inning of work, he allowed 3 hits and 2 runs to Florida to allow the visitors a brief lead. The Braves tied the game in their half of the 9th to send the contest to extra innings.

Georgia sports for Thursday, April 3rd

The Braves scored their first win of the season, crushing the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-2 at Turner Field in Atlanta. Leading 3-2 in the last of the 8th inning, the Braves broke things open with 7 runs—Mark Teixeira and Yunel Escobar belted home runs in the inning. Atlanta rookie pitcher Jair Jurrjens got the win with a good 5-plus innings of work. Jurrjens allowed 7 hits and 2 runs in his time on the hill. The Braves and Pirates wrap the series tonight. It will mark the first pitching start for oft-injured Mike Hampton since August of 2005.

From pro basketball, the Atlanta Hawks continue their push to the playoffs with their 5th straight win, a 127-120 decision over the Toronto Raptors. The Hawks increased their lead to 4 games for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Georgia Tech’s football program is losing receiver James Johnson for the 2008 season. Johnson announced he will skip his final year of eligibility on the football field, but remain enrolled in school. The senior missed last weekend’s scrimmage with tendonitis in his knee. The news comes as two fellow receivers announced plans to transfer. Tech under new head coach Paul Johnson is expected to focus more on its running game within a revamped offense. Johnson in 2007 had 25 catches for 447 yards.

Georgia sports for Wednesday, September 12th

Trying to keep their faint postseason hopes alive, the Braves came up with a big 13-5 win over the Mets in New York last night. Mark Teixeira knocked a 3-run homer, while Yunel Escobar added a 2-run shot. Willie Harris contributed 3 RBI's to the Atlanta offensive effort. With 17 games to go, the Braves are 5 games behind San Diego for the wild card playoff ticket. The Braves and Mets wrap their series tonight--John Smoltz gets the Braves' pitching start.

Georgia sports for Monday, August 6th

Rookie Yunel Escobar delievered an RBI-single in the 10th inning for the winning margin, as the Braves topped the Rockies 6-5 at Turner Field Sunday. Escobar had 2 RBI's for the game. The Atlanta-offense included a 3-hit day for Chipper Jones--a 2-run home run and double on his scorecard. Corky Miller and Willie Harris had RBI-doubles. The pitching win went to Oscar Villareal from the bullpen, his 1-inning of work to improve his mark to 2-1. The Braves finished a 4-2 homestand, and remain 4-and-a-half games behind the Mets for 1st in the NL-East division.

News-and-notes with the Braves from the weekend: Andruw Jones missed starting the past 2 games as he nurses an ailing left elbow. He received a cortisone shot to help the healing, and expects to play in the Mets-series which starts tomorrow night in New York. Shortstop Edgar Renteria was placed on the disabled list with an ankle sprain. Yunel Escobar will be the replacement at short until Renteria returns.

New 1st baseman Mark Teixeira has played 5 games since his trade to Atlanta. He's hit 3 home runs with 7 RBI's. Chipper Jones was mired in a 6-for-34 slide at the plate until getting healthy in Sunday's game with 3 hits.


Former Brave Tom Glavine last night became the 23rd pitcher all-time to record 300 wins for a career. Glavine's Mets beat the Cubs in Chicago. Glavine in the achievement is the 5th lefthanded pitcher in history to reach the milestone. While with the Braves, Glavine won 242 games and a pair of Cy Young awards.

From college football, preseason practice is underway in earnest for the teams of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia Southern.

Georgia sports for Monday, July 16th

The Braves are on a roll--they completed a 3-game series sweep of the Pirates in Atlanta Sunday with the 5-1 victory.

Buddy Carlyle gave the Braves 8 strong innings on the mound, as he allowed only 4 hits and a run in the outing. After surrendering a 1st inning home run, Carlyle recorded outs against 20 of the next 21 batters he faced.

Offensively, the Braves delivered 12 hits--RBI singles from Edgar Renteria, Jeff Francouer, and Yunel Escobar. Renteria had 4 hits on the day.

The Braves remain a game-and-a-half behind the Mets for first in the NL-East division. Atlanta continues their 10-game homestand tonight with the open of a series against the Reds.

Georgia sports for Thursday, June 28th

The Braves got healthy in a big way in their 3 games against the Washington Nationals--they swept the series, wrapping with a 13-0 rout of the Nats last night.

The Braves came up with a season-high 22 hits: 2nd baseman Yunel Escobar had 4 hits, 2 of them doubles and 4 runs scored from the leadoff spot. Chipper Jones had 3 RBI-singles. Edgar Renteria added 3 hits and 2 RBI’s. Brian McCann added a 2-run homer last night. On the mound, John Smoltz worked 5 innings for the pitching win, improving his record to 9-5.

The Braves completed the homestand outscoring the Nationals 23-3 in the series, this after being outscored 27-1 in their recent 5-game losing streak. Atlanta is 3-and-a-half games off the top of the NL-East.


The NBA Draft will be held tonight. The Atlanta Hawks look to score big with some key draft picks. They have the excellent opportunity to do so, with selections at #3 and #11 of the 1st round.