ATHENS — The 18th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs completed a sweep of Lipscomb, winning a doubleheader 9-2 and 9-5 Sunday at Foley Field.
“I thought our guys did a really good job of staying focused,” said Georgia's Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin. “We play so many guys. If you’re just playing nine guys all the time, it’s tough to have energy because the guys in the dugout don’t feel like they have a chance to play.”
With the three-game sweep, Georgia improved to 13-3 while the Bisons dropped to 9-7.
Game One
Georgia's nine runs came on eight hits, led by a 3-for-6 performance from freshman Cole Wagner. Sophomore Corey Collins went 2-for-5, graduate Connor Tate went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while five Bulldogs notched one hit apiece.
On the mound, sophomore Liam Sullivan (2-1) went five scoreless innings, giving up four hits with five strikeouts to earn the win. In relief, sophomore Jaden Woods went two innings and allowed two runs on two hits with three strikeouts, while junior Nolan Crisp pitched two scoreless innings and fanned three. Lipscomb right-handed pitcher, Ike Buxton (1-1) was tabbed with the loss.
The Bulldogs struck first in the bottom of the first, plating one run on an RBI single to left by Wagner, who had a career-high three hits in the first game. After three scoreless frames, Georgia extended its lead in the fifth on a two-RBI single to center field by sophomore Parks Harber, who pinch-hit for Chaney Rogers.
In the sixth, the Bulldogs exploded for five runs with the first coming on an RBI single to center field by pinch hitter Fernando Gonzalez. Ben Anderson, Harber and Cole Tate all drew bases-loaded walks before a wild pitch scored the last run of the inning for Georgia.
Lipscomb cut the UGA lead to six in the seventh on a two-run home run by Ethan Stamps, an Athens area product. The Bulldogs responded by plating another run in the eighth to cap a 9-2 victory in front of a crowd of 2,843.
Game Two
The Bulldogs were led by graduate centerfielder Ben Anderson and sophomore left-hander Luke Wagner in game two to complete a sweep in front of a Foley Field crowd of 2,770. Anderson erupted for two hits including a three-run home run in the sixth inning. Wagner came on in relief of sophomore Garrett Brown and pitched three scoreless innings while picking up the win to move his record to 5-0.
Brown opened the game for the Bulldogs and pitched a scoreless first inning. The Bulldogs’ bats got off to a hot start following an RBI double and an RBI single by Collins and Harber, respectively. The double by Collins extended a six-game hitting streak and scored the senior Anderson, who reached base due to a 10-pitch walk that extended his on-base streak to 14 games.
The Bisons quickly responded following another two-run home run from Stamps and a sacrifice fly by former Bulldog Caleb Ketchup in the top of the second to give Lipscomb a 3-2 lead.
After giving up a few hits and another run in the top of the third, Brown was replaced by Wagner. Brown was tabbed for four runs, eight hits and three strikeouts. The Bison lead was cut to 4-3 in the bottom of the third following a Connor Tate sacrifice fly that scored his brother, Cole.
Wagner was able to keep the Bison bats at bay for the fourth and fifth innings en route to a three-inning scoreless outing. The sophomore from Pennsylvania gave up three hits and one walk while fanning three Bisons. He was replaced by freshman Chandler Marsh with two outs in the sixth inning.
Georgia would take a 5-4 fifth-inning lead thanks to an RBI from each of the Tate brothers.The game was blown open in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to a three-run home run from Anderson to give the Bulldogs an 8-4 lead.
Marsh was able to close out the sixth inning with no damage and tallied scoreless seventh and eighth innings. The freshman from Florida pitched 2.1 scoreless innings and allowed two hits, one walk and two strikeouts.
The Bulldogs tacked on another run in the seventh after a successful squeeze play by senior Shane Marshall scored Connor Tate. Marshall took over behind the plate in the sixth inning after Gonzalez took a foul ball off his hand.
Senior Jack Gowen gave up one run with two strikeouts in the top of the ninth the seal the series sweep for the Bulldogs. Wagner picked up the victory for Georgia, and sophomore Tyler Legere (0-1) is tabbed with the loss for the Bisons.
Georgia will return to action for a mid-week bout against USC Upstate on Tuesday.
