Bulldogs bounce back after being swept by South Carolina, post 8-3 victory over Georgia State
Bulldogs bounce back after being swept by South Carolina, post 8-3 victory over Georgia State
LAWRENCEVILLE — After being swept by South Carolina this past weekend, Georgia returned to its winning ways with an 8-3 win over Georgia State on Tuesday at Coolray Field.
Georgia (14-7) struck for five runs on four hits in the second off GSU reliever Camren Landry.
The second inning started with Cole Wagner and Sebastian Murillo reaching on walks. Graduate Mason LaPlante’s run-scoring single made it a 1-0 game. Freshman Justin Thomas followed with a two-run single to right field. Graduate Ben Anderson (3-for-4) added an RBI single and Corey Collins capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly for a 5-0 advantage over Georgia State. In the bottom of the frame, Thomas made a diving catch in right field, taking away an extra-base hit from Panther’s third baseman Will Mize.
Freshman Leighton Finley, who was making his first career start on the mound, provided 2.1 innings on a staff night before leaving with two on in the third and the Bulldogs up, 5-1. Georgia looked to sophomore Chandler Marsh, who issued a pair of walks, including one with the bases loaded, before coming back to record two strikeouts to get the Bulldogs out of further trouble. With a 5-2 lead, Georgia turned to transfer Dalton Rhadans in the bottom of the fifth, and he would pitch two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts for his first win as a Bulldog. Graduate Kyle Greenler, junior Zach DeVito and freshman Matthew Hoskins all pitched an inning to preserve the win.
Bulldog redshirt freshman Charlie Condon, who extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a base hit in the second, notched his team-leading 36th RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth. In that inning, Georgia scored three runs on no hits to extend its lead to 8-2. Georgia State (12-9) cut it to 8-3 on a run-scoring single by Luke Boynton in the eighth inning, but that was the end of the scoring.
“It was good to bounce back with a victory tonight,” Georgia baseball head coach Scott Stricklin said after the victory over the Panthers. “I thought we played solid but not spectacular. Leighton (Finley) was good for the first two innings and then ran into some trouble. I thought Dalton Rhadans and Kyle Greenler were really good and Matthew Hoskins took care of the ninth. We had the big inning early and then certainly was important. Now, we have to get ready for Auburn because it’s a quick turnaround.”
Georgia returns to SEC action on Thursday when it visits Auburn (13-6-1, 0-3 SEC). The first pitch is slated for 7:02 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network that night.