Georgia pitcher Adam Goodman (16) celebrates a run during the NCAA baseball game between Georgia and Charleston Southern at Foley Field on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 in Athens, Ga. (Photo by Emily Selby)
Junior pitcher Connor Jones had a fantastic outing, pitching seven innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts, to lead Georgia (5-3) to a comfortable win over Charleston Southern (3-4) by a 10-3 score on Tuesday night at Foley Field.
The victory was Jones’ first career win and came on the heels of a no-decision at Mercer a week ago. Jones was picked up offensively by a pair of two-RBI efforts from senior Daniel Nichols and freshman LJ Talley. The team put together two four-run innings in the contest to cruise to the Tuesday victory.
Georgia struck for four runs in the third, cashing in on a bases-loaded, no-outs opportunity to take a 4-0 lead. The Bulldogs needed only three hits in the frame to do their damage, taking advantage of two free passes issued by Charleston Southern in the rally. RBIs in the frame went to Nichols for a sacrifice fly, Mitchell Webb on a groundout to bring in Stephen Wrenn,Adam Sasser on a single and Talley with a two-out double to right.
Charleston Southern answered right back, pushing a run across on a one-out groundout to short after Jones walked two batters to start the inning.
The Buccaneers then capitalized on back-to-back singles to start off the sixth with a one-out sacrifice fly to cut the Georgia lead to two runs.
Georgia extended its lead in the seventh inning as Wrenn produced three bases by himself with a leadoff single, stolen base, and forced a balk from the Buccaneer pitcher to reach third with no outs. After a walk to Keegan McGovern, Nichols singled home the center fielder with an opposite-field single to take a 5-2 lead.
The Bulldogs then loaded the bases to force a pitching change, and Logan Moody walked in a run to claim a 6-2 lead. The lead reached 8-2 after an error and a sacrifice fly ended the rally with the commanding six-run lead.
Addison Albright took over for Jones on the mound in the eighth, tossing a scoreless frame in his first collegiate appearance. The Bulldogs put two more runs on the board in the bottom of the inning, capped by a RBI double from McGovern to extend his streak of games with a RBI to seven.
Albright returned for the ninth, allowing a solo homer to give the final score of 10-3.
Dawg Tracks
– Daniel Nichols had three hits in the game to tie his career high. This was the eighth time that he accomplished that feat. Nichols finished 3-for-3 with two RBI, one coming on a sacrifice fly in a four-run third inning for Georgia.
– Connor Jones had a fantastic bounce-back start after his showing a week ago at Mercer, going seven innings and allowing two runs (both earned), with four hits, two walks and six strikeouts. It was his first career win.
– Freshman LJ Talley tied for the team lead with two RBI in the contest, a new career high for him.
– Addison Albright made his UGA debut, and he threw two scoreless innings to seal the win for Georgia.
– Henry Rowling and Aaron Rzucidlo each got their first career at-bats in the eighth inning.
– Keegan McGovern extended his hitting streak to eight games with a RBI double in the eighth. He has RBI in seven straight games.
– Stephen Wrenn scored all three times he reached base in the contest.
– Georgia scored 10 runs in a game for the first time since March 22, 2015 against Tennessee.
Stricklin Says
Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On Connor Jones’ performance…
“That was Connor Jones being Connor Jones. That’s the guy that we’ve seen all year long in intersquads from the beginning of the fall to right now. He’s been really good. It was unfortunate, he didn’t throw the ball very well at Mercer (last week), but he battled and competed and we ended up winning that game. To see him come out here today and throw a lot of strikes, the defense played well behind him. He’s a very popular guy on this team, so our guys are going to do everything they can to help him out. It was great to see and it makes us a lot better. When Connor Jones is good we’re a really good team.”
On the team’s overall play…
“I told our guys before the game that championship teams play like championship teams on Tuesday. It’s really easy sometimes on a Tuesday, you’re not going to have the big crowd, you’re not going to have the opponent, it’s really easy to come out here and go through the motions. That’s what I challenged our guys with today. If you want to be a championship team you need to show it on Tuesday and show it on Wednesday, not to mention on the weekend too. There are too many good players in college baseball to take a day off. Charleston Southern is a good team. They’ve got some very good players. If we don’t come out tomorrow (with intensity), we’re going to be in a dog fight.”
Players’ Perspective
Freshman INF LJ Talley
On his two-RBI game…
“It was fun tonight. I was trying to put the bat on the ball because I ‘ve been getting behind in counts. Tonight I was just trying to hook a fastball early, and that’s what I got on the first (RBI). On the second, I was just trying to put the ball in play with two strikes, and luckily I had a good night and the team had a good night.”
On Connor Jones’ performance…
“He did really well. Last week wasn’t ideal conditions. It was very cold and sleeting, pretty much. He did very well tonight. He was commanding all of his pitches, and they couldn’t touch him.”
Junior P Connor Jones
On what he changed from his last start…
“I just simplified things. I tried to be aggressive with my fastball and get ahead in the count, and once I got ahead in the count, I tried to finish hitters off. I think the simpler is the better. [My performance] last week wasn’t indicative of the kind of pitcher I am. Everybody has a bad start, so I just moved on from it and kept doing what I’ve been doing. I didn’t change too much, just tried to stay with the process.”
On the team win…
“I think [Coach Stricklin] was pleased, but I think that’s how he expects us to play. We had good at bats, we threw strikes, and I think any time you do that, you’re going to win ballgames.”
On Deck
Georgia and Charleston Southern will compete once again on Wednesday at Foley Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
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