COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sophomore Emerson Hancock struck out a career-high 12 as eighth-ranked Georgia defeated No. 22 South Carolina 6-1 Friday in front of a crowd of 6,435 at Founders Park.
With the SEC-opening victory, the Bulldogs (16-2, 1-0 SEC) extended their winning streak to seven, and the starting pitching improved to 14-1 overall with a 1.76 ERA. Hancock earned the win to move his record to 5-0 with a 0.58 ERA as he matched his career high by going seven innings. The lone run he allowed came on a solo home run as Bulldog pitchers combined to register a season-high 15 strikeouts. Junior Justin Glover took care of the final two frames for Georgia.
In the second, Bulldog senior LJ Talley led off with a single up the middle against a defensive shift to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 11 games. Then, graduate transfer John Cable capped a nine-pitch at bat with a two-run blast to centerfield in his SEC debut. It was his second home run of the year, gave him a six-game hitting streak and provided a 2-0 lead. In the third, USC freshman Brady Allen connected for his third home run of the year to make it 2-1. It was only the seventh home run allowed by the Bulldogs this year, all solo shots.
Georgia broke the game open with a four-run sixth as the Gamecocks made a pair of pitching changes. Junior Aaron Schunk started the scoring with a two-run triple, sophomore Mason Meadow had a sacrifice fly and junior Patrick Sullivan had an RBI-double to extend the lead to 6-1. It marked the 14th time this season that the Bulldogs scored four or more runs in an inning. The Gamecocks dropped to 14-4 (0-1 SEC) with Wesley Sweatt (1-1) taking the loss, allowing five runs on five hits in five innings.
Game two of the series is set for Saturday at 4 p.m. and be on SEC Network+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
