Georgia Baseball hosted Kennesaw State on Tuesday for a mid-week matchup. The Bulldogs destroyed the Owls 15-3 after two innings with consecutive grand slams. Georgia improves to 12-5 on the season as they head into SEC play this weekend against Alabama.
The bats were not cold on Tuesday evening. Cam Shepherd and Michal Curry both hit a grand slam which set the tone early in the game. The two grand slam’s marked Georgia’s fourth in program history.
Besides scoring eight runs off two hits, the Bulldogs plated seven other runs. Before Shepherd’s dinger in the second inning, consecutive two-out infield singles, one of which was a bunt. A walk followed and then Georgia scored the first three runs that equalized Kennesaw State’s top of the frame output.
Then in the third inning, Georgia filled the bases before LJ Talley singled in a run. Tucker Bradley hit a sacrifice fly, and Shepherd walked. Curry came up to bat and hit the batter’s eye in the straightaway center field for a 14-3 lead. Adam Sasser tacked on a solo dinger in the fourth for his second home run of the season.
“It was really good to see Cam [Shepherd] swing the bat like that,” Stricklin said. “His bat looked a little bit different in batting practice today; he’s recovering from strep throat. He’s just been a little off these last few games. I thought in batting practice he had a little more pop in his bat. Great to see Michael Curry barrel up three balls and have those three great at-bats. All in all, I thought we swung the bat well, and I think it was a complete game by us.”
Tony Locey earned the win and improved to 2-0 on the season. He threw five innings, striking out eight batters, a career-high for him. Locey gave up three runs on three hits with two walks. To relieve him, Tim Elliot, Adam Goodman, Blake Cairnes and Zac Kristofak each threw single scoreless innings to close out the game.
Georgia heads to Alabama to face the Crimson Tide on Friday for the first game of the series. The first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the SEC Network.