Collins, Harber power Georgia past Yellow Jackets
Collins, Harber power Georgia past Yellow Jackets
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — After being shut out on Saturday, Georgia (9-2) defeated Georgia Tech 12-3 at Coolray Field on Sunday to avoid a series sweep.
The No. 19 Bulldogs were led at the plate by a pair of sophomores in Corey Collins and Parks Harber. The duo each had a home run and combined for seven RBIs against the Yellow Jackets (10-2).
“I feel like we came out here and we played relaxed,” Collins said. “We got after it. We were calm at the plate. Guys were swinging at good pitches. I feel like the last couple of days we haven’t been that aggressive, but today we came out loose. We were aggressive and we got after it.”
Harber, who had a career-high four RBIs on Sunday, got things started after drawing a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the top of the first. That run brought Collins past home plate and put the Bulldogs up 1-0. It set the tone for the rest of the game as they never looked back.
The sophomore third baseman proceeded to hit a two-run home run during his next at-bat to put Georgia up 3-0. Georgia Tech’s Stephen Reid then hit a solo shot to left-center in the fourth to cut the deficit to two runs. However, Collins would respond with a home run of his own to make it a 4-1 contest heading into the bottom of the fifth.
The Yellow Jackets would scratch off another run in the bottom half of the sixth inning as Kevin Parada’s two-out single to right field scored John Giesler. The Bulldogs led 4-2 entering the top of the seventh inning, which is when a six-run effort blasted open the contest. Harber, Collins, Cole Tate and Garrett Blaylock all had RBIs in the frame.
“We wanted to get their starter out and get to the bullpen like we did Saturday, but yesterday we couldn't come up with the big hit when we had the chances,” Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin said. “Today, we got some big hits, and our defense played well too.”
After Georgia Tech added a one-run in the bottom half of the seventh inning, the Bulldogs would tack on two more in the top of the ninth to total a season-high 12 runs.
Garrett Brown got the start on the mound for Georgia. He pitched three-complete innings, limiting the Yellow Jackets to two hits while giving up three walks and zero runs.
Five other Bulldogs’ pitchers contributed to the win, combining to give up three runs and strike out seven batters. The group also combined to limit Georgia Tech to five hits over the last six innings.
“We played a really good team the past three days,” Stricklin said. “I'm glad we got the win today and hopefully that will give us some momentum going into next week against Georgia Southern.”
The Bulldogs are back in action on Tuesday at SRP Park in North Augusta, S.C. when they begin a two-game set with Georgia Southern. The first pitch will be at 6:35 p.m., and then the series concludes on Wednesday in Statesboro at 6 p.m.