A collective effort across the board led Georgia to an 11-2 victory over NC State on Sunday. The Dawgs had a complete turnaround from yesterday, and as NC State’s head coach Elliott Avent said after today’s game, baseball games do not roll over. The two teams will meet on Monday at 7:06PM EST for the third game of the series.
Georgia started off hot and never looked back. To start things off, Corey Collins struck out looking. Collins did not agree with the call, but Charlie Condon got things rolling. Condon singled, setting up Slate Alford with an opportunity. Alford, batting third, ripped one ball deep and Georgia took the lead 2-0.
Leighton Finley was on the mound for Georgia. Finley quickly forced a pop out and a foul out. He then struck out the third batter, and Georgia was back up to bat. Logan Jordan led off in the top of the 2nd inning and grounded out. Dillon Carter drove a ball deep down the first base foul line for a double. Fernando Gonzalez grounded out to first but advanced Carter to third. Kolby Branch lined out to left field, stranding Carter on third.
Leighton Finley opened the bottom of the 2nd inning with a walk followed by a single. Runners were on first and second with no outs. NC State’s Alex Sosa popped out to Dillon Carter who then gunned down a runner at third for a double play. This left one runner on first with two outs. Fernando Gonzalez caught NC State stealing and recorded the third out of the inning.
Georgia had a “big inning” in the third. Back at the top of the batting order, Corey Collins led off with a single. Charlie Condon flew out. Slate Alford hit a single right, advancing Collins to second. Paul Toesz reached first on a fielder’s choice, so there were runners on first and second with two outs. True freshman Tre Phelps rose to the occasion and launched a three-run homer over the batter’s eye wall. Logan Jordan lined out, and Georgia led 5-0 heading into the bottom of the third.
NC state Luke Nixon lined to Slate Alford to start the bottom of the third. Matt Heavner struck out looking. Noah Soles doubled right over Corey Collins’ head but was left stranded on second after Serano III grounded out to second.
The Bulldogs had another “big inning” in the fourth. NC State decided to switch pitchers, bringing in Ryan Marohn. Marohn walked his first batter in Dillon Carter. Then, Gonzalez reached first on a bunt. Kolby Branch drove in Dillon Carter with a double deep left. Gonzalez remained at third. Corey Collins was thrown out at first but drove in a run from Fernando Gonzalez. NC State elected to intentionally walk Charlie Condon. Then, Marohn walked Slate Alford, leaving bases loaded with one out. Paul Toetz popped out foul. Tre Phelps was hit by a pitch, driving in one more run. Logan Jordan struck out, but Georgia was able to get three runs out of the inning. The Dawgs led 8-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth.
Finley walked NC State’s lead-off hitter Garrett Pennington. Turning things around, he struck out Alec Makarewicz. Jacob Cozart flew out. Brandon Butterworth singled, advancing Pennington to second. Finley struck out Alex Sosa, stranding NC State runners on first and second.
Dillon Carter struck out looking. Fernando Gonzalez doubled down the third base foul line. Kolby Branch singled but Gonzalez stayed put. Runners were on first and second with one out. Corey Collins grounded out into a double play to leave Georgia with their second scoreless inning of the game.
NC State also remained scoreless. Luke Nixon flew out. Matt Heavner reached second on a fielding error from Paul Toetz. Noah Soles struck out swinging and Serrano III grounded out to second.
The sixth inning was a quick one, but it was not uneventful. Charlie Condon lined out and Slate Alford grounded out. Paul Toetz then made up for his fielding error with a home run deep left. Tre Phelps flew out and the Dawgs led 9-0 heading into the bottom of the inning. Garrett Pennington reached first on an infield single. Georgia caught Pennington and Makarewicz on a double play. Jacob Cozart singled and Brandon Butterworth grounded out to end the inning.
Logan Jordan was hit by a pitch leading off in the top of the seventh. Clayton Chadwick entered as a pinch-runner for Jordan. Dillon Carter sac’d to the pitcher and Chadwick advanced to second. Fernando Gonzalez singled to center, bringing in Chadwick, and Gonzalez was thrown out at second while attempting to advance. The Dawg’s lead grew to 10 runs. Kolby Branch flew out to center. NC State’s first run came in the bottom of the seventh. Alex Sosa flew out. Then, NC State batters found a bit of a rhythm. Luke Nixon singled and advanced to third after Matt Heavner followed up with another single. Wes Johnson met with Finley for a brief period, but he remained in the game. Noah Soles singled and Nixon scored, but Heavner was thrown out at second. Another single from Serano III advanced Soles to third, and Wes Johnson made the pitching change. Brian Zeldin replaced Leighton Finley after Finley’s 107th pitch of the afternoon. Garrett Pennington popped out to close out the inning.
Again at the top of the batting order, Corey Collins led off the 8th inning with a homer deep right towards the Kudzu hill. Charlie Condon and Slate Alford grounded out. Paul Toetz doubled down the third base line. Tre Phelps grounded out to the short stop, and Georgia held an 11-1 lead going into the bottom of the 8th. Zeldin faced four batters in the bottom of the inning. Makarewicz grounded out, then Jacob Cozart hit the scoreboard with a deep right one-run homer. Brandon Butterworth flew out to center. Zeldin closed out the inning by striking out Alex Sosa. NC State trailed by 9 heading into the 9th inning.
No more runs scored in the 9th inning, and Georgia stayed alive to force a game three. Leighton Finley and Brian Zeldin both did their jobs, and the Georgia bats were hot throughout the game. Since Finley pitched a majority of the game, Wes Johnson stated that Georgia will be able to use every pitcher on the roster for game three except for him. If Georgia wins on Monday, they will advance to Omaha for the irst time since 2008.