UGA Baseball: Georgia Cruises Past Owls For First Road Win
| Team | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 11 | 2 | |
| 3 | 4 | 3 |
KENNESAW, GA.—–Garrett Blaylock and Cam Shepherd hit home runs to lead fourth-ranked Georgia to a 10-3 road win over Kennesaw State Wednesday at Stillwell Stadium.
Georgia (4-0) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first. Ben Anderson led off with a walk, took second on a passed ball and came around to score on a base hit by Tucker Bradley. In the second, Anderson drew his team-leading fifth walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Shepherd for a 2-0 advantage. The Owls threatened in the fourth after a pair of miscues to start the home half of the frame. However, Georgia turned a double play to keep them off the scoreboard.
In the fifth, Georgia extended its lead to 5-0. Riley King executed a squeeze bunt to bring Anderson home, who led off the inning getting hit by a pitch and made his way around the bases with a stolen base and a wild pitch. On the squeeze, Tucker Bradley, who was at first after a walk, scored on a throwing error by the first baseman Justin Russell. Blaylock followed with his second home run of the year.
The Owls (3-1) pushed across a pair of runs in the fifth. Georgia redshirt freshman Garrett Brown was making his debut and allowed just one hit through four innings before the first three KSU batters reached with one scoring. Freshman Jonathan Cannon came in and got the Bulldogs out of further trouble including picking off a runner at second. Cannon would provide three scoreless innings for his first career win.
In the eighth, Shepherd connected for a two-run home run, his first of the year and 19th of his career for a 7-2 lead as the Bulldogs would erupt for four in the frame. Blaylock added his second home run, a two-run blast for a 9-2 lead. KSU got a run in the eighth and Georgia got it back in the ninth for the final.
Dawg Tracks
– Junior Tucker Bradley extended his hitting streak to four games with an RBI-single in the 1st while senior Patrick Sullivan has a four game streak after a double in the 8th.
-Senior Cam Shepherd notched his team-high third RBI-double of the year to make it 2-0 in the 3rd and added a two-run home run in the 8th for a 7-2 lead.
-Junior Garrett Blaylock smashed his second home run of the year for a 5-0 lead in the 5th and added another in the eighth to make it 9-2.
-Redshirt freshman pitcher Garrett Brown and true freshman Michael Polk made their Bulldog debut. Brown started and went four innings while freshman Jonathan Cannon garnered his first career win in relief with three perfect innings and three strikeouts.
Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On the game…
“We’ve got a lot of veteran guys, several guys in the lineup that have redshirted and they are playing well right now. We came in and had a good approach and got big nights from Cam (Shepherd) and Garrett (Blaylock) I thought Garrett Brown pitched well in his first outing and Jonathan Cannon was lights out coming in from the bullpen for the second time this season. It was good to get our first road win. ”
Up Next:
Georgia begins a four-game series with Santa Clara (5-0) on Friday. First pitch at Foley Field is set for 3 p.m.
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