The Bulldogs (24-25) got a big boost from their pitchers against Western Carolina (23-24) as six arms combined to allow only two hits to lead the way for Georgia to overpower the Catamounts 6-0 on Wednesday night at Foley Field.
Kevin Smith got the win to improve to 4-1 on the year after tossing three innings of one-hit ball. Of the six pitchers who took the mound for Georgia, none gave up more than one hit and four did not allow any hits to Western Carolina.
The Bulldogs busted the game open with a four-run fourth inning, highlighted by Skyler Weber’s two-RBI double that gave him the team lead for RBI with 30 on the year. Michael Curry also claimed two RBI in the contest, driving in a run in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly and hitting a solo home run in the eighth to punctuate a strong performance out of the home side.
After a quiet first two innings, Georgia cashed in with an unearned run in the third to take the lead. Nick King singled to center with one down then stole second, and he moved to third a batter later on an infield single. He then came in to score on a balk, giving Georgia a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs padded the lead with four runs in the fourth, capped by Weber’s two-RBI double to left-center with two outs to give Georgia a 5-0 lead. Earlier in the inning, Curry and Adam Sasser each claimed a RBI with a sacrifice fly and single, respectively.
Both teams then combined for just one hit until the eighth inning when Curry launched his eighth homer of the season, a solo shot, to give Georgia a 6-0 lead.
Dawg Tracks
– Blakely Brown recorded his first career start in the contest, tossing one scoreless inning before giving way to Kevin Smith.
– Skyler Weber’s two-RBI double in the fourth extended his hitting streak to nine games. It was his 12th double of the season and gave him the team lead with 30 RBI.
– Adam Sasser has four RBI over his previous two games after entering Sunday’s contest against Ole Miss with four on the year.
– Seven of the nine starters in Georgia’s lineup recorded at least one hit in the contest and five scored at least one run.
– Michael Curry’s solo shot in the eighth inning was his team-leading eighth home run of the season.
– No Georgia pitcher allowed more than one hit on the night, and four of six pitchers did not allow a hit.
– The two hits allowed represented the lowest total since Robert Tyler allowed only one against Alabama on April 2.
– Sasser’s double in the eighth inning was his third extra-base hit of the season in 48 at bats.
Stricklin Says
Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On the win…
“We played really well. It was great to see Blakely Brown get back out there on the mound. He gave us a good start in the first inning and that kind of pumped up the guys in the dugout who got to see him out there throwing balls in the mid 90s again. Kevin Smith was really good. The rest of the guys – I thought we pitched really well, played great defense, got a couple big hits. That’s a really good team that we just beat. It gives us some momentum going into the weekend.”
On needing to win games down the stretch…
“Guys have been loose. We just told them the truth – this is where we stand. They know. They read the paper too. They know where we are. Bottom line we’ve got to come out here and try to win every game that we play. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting them know this is where we are, this is where we stand, this is what we’ve got to do.”
On the impending matchup with Missouri…
“We’ve got some momentum going into Missouri. We’re going to face a really good team. We’re going to see two really good starting pitchers in Reggie McClain and Tanner Houck. They’re two of the best guys we’ll see all year long. Their bullpen isn’t spectacular. They leave it to their starters, they leave it in their starters’ hands. They’ve got a couple of guys in the bullpen who are really good, but they’re not really deep. We’ve got to make sure that we try to get to that bullpen as soon as possible. That’s the plan every weekend, but we’ve got to try to get Reggie, try to get Tanner out of the game and get to the bullpen.”
Players’ Perspective
Fr. C Michael Curry
On momentum from this game…
“We’re definitely playing better baseball. I think we are kind of hitting our stride. The pitchers did a phenomenal job tonight, but you know, we’re working on momentum. We’ve got good momentum going into this weekend. We’re playing good ball right now.”
On midweek games…
“Every game from here on out is the most important game. Coach kept saying today is the World Series, we’ve got to come out ready to go, and I think we did. Starting with our in-and-out before the game, that was probably our best in-and-out we have had in a while. We looked good, so we were ready to play today which was good.”
Jr. OF Skyler Weber
On the team’s play on offense…
“We definitely came off a stretch of very hard-throwing arms and definitely good off-speed stuff, and today they definitely showed off-speed. It wasn’t as hard as we’ve been seeing, and that’s kind of what the slow start was. But other than that, the offense had an approach of seeing the ball deep. Some of us got away with that, and let that get to us.”
On his expectations of his production before the season…
“I have always believed in myself. I mean, after my freshman and sophomore year were disappointing average wise, I have always believed in myself. I always work hard, and I’ve got great coaches to back that up.”
What’s On Deck
The Bulldogs head to Columbia, Missouri for a weekend set against the Missouri Tigers in a critical SEC series.