LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA.— Swinging wood bats, the Georgia Bulldogs managed seven hits but no runs in an 8-0 exhibition loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday in front of 3,408 fans at Champions Stadium.

Senior third baseman Ryan Peisel went 3-for-4 to lead the Bulldogs at the plate while freshman Justin Grimm, senior Joshua Fields and sophomore Alex McRee pitched a scoreless inning apiece to headline the nine pitchers who saw action.

In the first, Atlanta grabbed a 1-0 lead off Bulldog starter Dean Weaver. With one out, Yunel Escobar reached on an error by Peisel, took second on a walk to Chipper Jones and then scored on a base hit by Mark Teixeira. Weaver did strike out Jeff Francoeur in the frame.

In the second with Justin Earls on the mound, Kelly Johnson’s run-scoring single and a two-run double by Jones made it 4-0 Braves. In the third, Fields retired Jeff Francoeur, Mark Kotsay reached on a walk and then he got Joe Borchard to pop back to him as he turned it into a double play. Grimm made his debut in the fourth inning and looked sharp, striking out Martin Prado and Brent Lillibridge.

In the fifth, Jordan Schaefer’s sacrifice fly coupled with a two-run double by Brandon Jones off Stephen Brock extended the Braves lead to 7-0. In the sixth, McRee struck out the side around a walk and a base hit. Borchard tripled and scored in the seventh off of senior Nick Montgomery for the final run.

Along with Peisel, Georgia got a pair of singles from junior shortstop Gordon Beckham, a double from sophomore Michael Demperio and a base hit by sophomore Matt Cerione. Demperio collected his double with one out in the first off Atlanta starter Charlie Morton.

Morton pitched two scoreless innings for the win while Weaver got the loss after allowing the one unearned run. The Braves employed five pitchers on the day.

“The Braves do a first class job for us when we come down here, and we appreciate the opportunity to play them,” said Georgia coach David Perno.
“I know the team really enjoys the experience. Now, we’re looking forward to the Oregon State series.”