Bulldogs snap Wofford's 14-game winning streak
Bulldogs snap Wofford's 14-game winning streak
Georgia Sports Communications/For Immediate Release/March 14, 2023
ATHENS — Powered by four home runs, Georgia snapped Wofford’s 14-game winning streak by defeating the Terriers 10-8 Tuesday in front of a Foley Field crowd of 2,625.
The Terriers (14-2) jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Bulldogs (13-4) erupted for five runs in the second as Cole Wagner and Charlie Condon (3-for-4, 2 RBI) smashed home runs.
For Condon, it was his team-leading eighth of the year and gave him an NCAA-leading 34 RBIs while extending his hitting streak to 16 games. Wofford came right back to tie the contest in the top of the third. Georgia got out of further trouble with stellar relief pitching by Will Pearson who inherited runners at the corners and nobody out.
Freshman Matthew Hoskins quieted the Terriers for the next 2.1 innings, registering his first career victory, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts. Wofford reliever Coulson Buchanan dropped to 2-1 as he allowed four runs on seven hits over three innings. Georgia got two scoreless innings by sophomore Chandler Marsh who struck out three.
"I thought we showed a lot of toughness,” said Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin. “Down 4-0, not looking real good out of the gate. They had all of their pitchers lined up. They had a rainout this weekend, and their starter on Friday only went 40 pitches. (Lucas) Mahlstedt, the guy that closed for them, was really good. We knew it was going to be tough for our offense. I thought our offense did a great job. They put up 10 runs and 16 hits. All around, I thought our offense really battled today."
Wofford went up 6-4 in the fifth only to see the Bulldogs responded with four runs on five hits in their half of the frame. Graduate Mason LaPlante got the rally started with an inside-the-park home run, the first by a Bulldog since Tucker Maxwell back in 2019.
Graduate Connor Tate (2-for-5, 2 RBI) made it 8-6 with a two-run shot, his seventh of the season. Tate extended his hitting streak to a career-best 22 games with a single in the first. Corey Collins would collect an RBI on a “home run single” as Wofford centerfielder Andrew Mannelly looked to have made a catch that cleared the wall. On the play, Collins passed Condon, who thought it was a catch and was returning to first.
Georgia added a run in the sixth for a 10-6 lead and the Terriers managed to plate two runs in the ninth off former Wofford standout Dalton Rhadans, who is now a Bulldog pitcher.
Georgia (13-4) gets set to open SEC action on Friday night when No. 14 South Carolina (17-1) comes to Foley Field for a three-game series. The first pitch is slated for 6:02 p.m. and be available on SEC Network+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Here is Stricklin’s interview from Tuesday: