Woods, Bulldogs hand Yellow Jackets their first loss
Woods, Bulldogs hand Yellow Jackets their first loss
ATHENS — Georgia played arguably its best game of the season on Friday night in a 7-2 victory over rival Georgia Tech as junior starting pitcher Jaden Woods led the charge.
The Warner Robins, Ga., native was nearly flawless as he dealt the Yellow Jackets their first loss.
The 6-foot-2, 198-pound left-hander pitched six scoreless innings against Georgia Tech. He also struck out a season’s second-best eight hitters and only walked two on Friday.
A few times in the first and second, Woods faced some adversity but was able to get out of trouble. He stranded five Georgia Tech baserunners through the first two innings.
The Bulldogs also rocked Yellow Jackets’ starting pitcher Dawson Brown, who gave up seven earned runs. The Georgia Tech ace also gave up nine hits and walked six in 3.1 innings.
Georgia’s Mason LaPlante (two RBIs), Charlie Condon and Corey Collins all had two hits each in the win. Cole Wagner was also productive (1-for-2) with a double and two RBIs.
Bulldogs’ head coach Scott Stricklin was impressed with his team’s energy on Friday night; however, he wants to secure the series against Georgia Tech on Saturday in Atlanta.
“We lost the first two and then we won on Sunday last year,” Stricklin said. “Any time you win on Sunday, it puts a better taste in your mouth, but the bottom line is that we have a chance to win the series Saturday. Hopefully, we can get to Sunday with a chance to win all three. It is going to be tough tomorrow. Playing at their place is always difficult..”
Georgia plated four runs in the bottom of the second. Sebastian Murrillo had a one-out double, scoring Collins to put the Bulldogs on top. LaPlante then tripled to bring in Wagner and Murrillo before he crossed the plate to score on a ground out by Ben Anderson.
In the third inning, Georgia added three more runs, extending its lead to 7-0 headed to the fourth. Wagner had a bases-clearing double scoring Collins and Fernando Gonzalez. A few hitters later, Connor Tate had a double, which brought in Anderson and Wagner.
“There were some guys that were saying this was going to be one of the biggest series of the year, just from an alumni and a fanbase standpoint,” LaPlante said. “I think the highlight video they showed before the game was, ‘One of the reasons you come to Georgia is to play in one of these games.’ You could tell from the fans they were really getting into it, and that was awesome to see. On Saturday, we’re just going to have to replicate that environment the best we can going into their place, and then likewise on Sunday.”
The Bulldogs got bullpen work from Kyle Greenler and Charlie Goldstein. Greenler replaced Woods and pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He also stranded one Georgia Tech baserunner. Goldstein got the Yellow Jackets to go quietly in the eighth, but gave up two runs in the ninth inning, although he was able to fight through it and secure the win.
As a whole, Georgia’s pitching combined for 12 strikeouts compared to only four walks. The Bulldogs also stranded a dozen Georgia Tech baserunners in Friday’s victory.
Game two of the series will be played at Georgia Tech (9-1) on Saturday at 2 p.m. Georgia (7-2) will be starting junior Liam Sullivan on the mound. He is 1-0 on the year.
