If the last five games haven’t defined the Georgia baseball team, Georgia head coach David Perno did after his team’s 11-1 loss to Kennesaw State at Foley Field Tuesday night.

Georgia catcher Christian Glisson puts the tag on a Kennesaw State player Tuesday afternoon. Photo by JON-MICHAEL SULLIVAN

“We’re just not a good baseball team and we don’t have any fight and to be honest it’s extremely disappointing,” he said. “We have had, without question, the worst week ever since I have got here and we have to figure some things out.”

Mired in the five game losing streak, the Diamond Dogs (6-7) have been outscored 61-11 and show few signs of improvement. Its not the losses that bother Perno, its how his team losses.

“The losing streak is not that vital to me,” he said. “The wins and the losses don’t bother me. It’s the lack of competitiveness, the lack of energy, the lack of confidence, the lack of fight, the lack of pride. You name it and we don’t have it.

“I thought this was going to be a gritty team and I’m kind of lost. I’ve never been as disappointed in a baseball team as I am of this team right now.”

The Diamond Dogs started Eric Swegman, who after two scoreless innings completely unraveled in the third inning. After allowing base hits to eight and nine-hole hitter Peyton Hart and Jordan Craft, the Dogs got an out after a failed sacrifice bunt by Sean McClurken. But Swegman was unable to find the strike zone as he walked the bases loaded and subsequently walked in a run before getting the hook from Georgia head coach David Perno.

“We have to figure out some new roles because some people just are not getting it done,” Perno said. “I’m stunned that we are in this position. We have no one that can get a tough out anymore.”

Reliever Blake Dieterich didn’t fare much better. He struck out the first batter he faced before hitting Clint Roques to bring in another run before allowing consecutive two-run singles to Ross Tendler and Hart.

By the inning’s end, Kennesaw (5-8) took a commanding 7-0 on the benefit of only four hits, five of the runs charged to Swegman (0-1) and two to Dieterich.

The Diamond Dogs scored their lone run in the following half inning on a line-drive home run to right field by freshman second baseman Cooper Moseley. It was both his first collegiate hit and home run.

The offensive struggled mightily all game long, mustering only five base hits  — three singles —all game and only four against Owls starter Zak Griffith (1-1) who entered the game with a 7.71 ERA. Griffith pitched five innings to earn the victory.

The two through four hitters, Peter Verdin, Colby May and Brett DeLoach, went a combined 0-11.

“The offense just can’t get it done,” Perno said. “It’s contagious.”

The lone bright spot for the Diamond Dogs was freshman Robert Shipman, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning and went 2-for-3. But, for Shipman, his personal success meant nothing.

“It’s time to wake up,” he said. “Teams are not going to lay down to us in the season and we have to step up and take ownership. It’s on us. The coaches can only do so much. They have taught us the right way and we have to execute and that’s something we aren’t doing.

“We have to ask ourselves, where is our pride right now?” Shipman added. “Where is the belief we had in the beginning of the season? It has to show up now or it’s not going to be pretty at the end of the season.”

Kennesaw State then added single runs in the fifth, sixth, eight and ninth innings to complete the 11-1 rout.

The two teams play again Wednesday in Kennesaw and May said his team just needs to forget about all their losses.

“We just need to focus on playing ball,” May said. “I don’t really know what happened today and we just have to forget about it and move on and just play better tomorrow. That all we can do. I trust in the team and I know we can do this.”