Baseball: The Bulldogs' big sticks provide spark in win over Hofstra

Georgia second baseman Cory Acton (9) rounds the bases after his home run in the fifth inning against Hofstra. (Photo/Lance McCurley)

Chapel Hill, NC. — Georgia’s season lives to see another day. The Bulldogs (36-23) defeated Hofstra 24-1 in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.

They used a huge third inning to power them to victory in which Josh McAllister (4-for-6), Ben Anderson (1-for-2) and Connor Tate (1-for-3) all homered. Georgia scored 13 total runs in the frame.

Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin was happy after his team’s performance on Saturday.

“That was exactly what we needed (after last night),” Stricklin said. “We certainly weren’t feeling very good about things (after the loss). So, coming into today, we needed some momentum and it started on the mound. Liam Sullivan was outstanding (today). The plan was for us to hopefully minimize the use of the bullpen and get a win. We needed to stay as fresh as we possibly could and that’s exactly how we drew it up.”

That offensive spark gave the left-handed Sullivan some breathing room. He provided the Bulldogs with seven complete innings of work, only giving up one run in the process. Sullivan also limited the Pride to six hits while striking out seven and walking one.

Sullivan stated that his biggest goal was going out and trying to throw strikes consistently.

“It was nice,” Sullivan said. “My biggest goal was going out there with that lead and throwing strikes.”

Georgia’s bats stayed hot throughout the contest, scoring 11 more runs over the next six innings. However, the offensive slugfest was highlighted by McAllister’s two home runs and career-high five RBI effort. It was much needed after he went 1-for-3 on Friday against VCU.

McAllister said his performance wasn’t due to any “pent-up frustration.”

“I wouldn’t say it was that,” he said. “Coach (Scott) Daeley does a great job of calming us down before the game. Today, the message was, ‘hey, we’re just one bloop hit away from breaking things open.’ Like we talked about postgame … it was just momentum. I’m glad it shifted our way.”

The Bulldogs had a total of 16 hits against Hofstra. They also only stranded five runners on base, compared to more than a dozen in the disappointing loss to VCU on Friday.

Overall, Georgia used three pitchers as Coleman Willis and Collin Caldwell each threw an inning. Both relief arms combined to limit Hofstra to zero hits and runs, respectively.

Stricklin was impressed with how his pitching staff bounced back after Friday’s outing.

“The plan tomorrow is probably to start Luke (Wagner) on the mound, but yeah, the bullpen is fresh,” Stricklin said. “We’ve got Jaden (Woods), Jack (Gowen) and Chandler (Marsh) (ready to go). We’ve got the guys that threw last night that are still available.”

The Bulldogs will play the loser of the winner’s bracket game between VCU and North Carolina on Sunday, June 5th at 1 p.m. They will need to win out to move on to a Super Regional.

Here is the postgame interview: