Tennessee batter celebrates go-ahead homer prematurely as Georgia outfielder makes incredible catch

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Tennessee Volunteers catcher Stone Lawless thought he had given his team the lead in the top of the ninth inning against the Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday, but his dramatic bat slam was all for naught.

Lawless drove Bulldogs pitcher Justin Byrd’s pitch deep to left field. He slammed the bat on the ground and began to celebrate with his teammates in the dugout. However, Georgia left fielder Cole Johnson leaped at the wall and robbed the home run.

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Tennessee’s Stone Lawless at bat against Nicholls during an NCAA college baseball game on Feb. 13, 2026, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Johnson and his Bulldogs teammates celebrated the 8-7 win. Lawless was stunned.

"Initially, I didn't think it was a no-doubter. I thought he caught the ball off the end of the bat," Georgia head coach Wes Johnson said after the game, via the team’s website. "When Cole was going back, he works on that stuff. He gets after it in batting practice and works on that. Then when I saw him make the catch, I couldn't believe it."

Cole Johnson said he knew that if the ball was going to be a home run, it would have been out of his reach.

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Tennessee catcher Stone Lawless (27) hits a fly ball during the SEC Baseball Tournament Semifinals game between Tennessee Volunteers and Vanderbilt Commodores on May 24, 2025, at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"I knew it was going to be right up against the wall, and if it was a homer, it wasn't going to be