ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia blasted 15 hits for 16 runs in a 16-1 rout of Georgia State on Tuesday at Foley Field.
The 16th-ranked Bulldogs held the Panthers to just three hits in the blowout win.
Georgia coach Scott Stricklin credited Ben Anderson's monster home run in the first inning as a momentum setter for the Bulldogs.
“Ben Anderson set the tone for us tonight,” Stricklin said. “The momentum shifted in a hurry, and I thought we had some really good at-bats throughout the night. We kept putting pressure on offensively. We used a lot of guys on the mound, and they were fresh because our starting pitching this past weekend was really good in winning a road series.”
Chaney Rogers led the box score with a 3-for-3, three-RBI performance. Garrett Blaylock had a big night as well, going 2-for-4, with four RBIs. Parks Harber was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. In total, eight Bulldogs notched one hit apiece.
Although Chandler Marsh didn't get the start on the mound for the Bulldogs, he earned the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings of work, giving up one hit with four strikeouts.
Georgia State (24-17) right-handed pitcher, Duncan Lutz (2-1) was tabbed with the loss. He went 1 2/3 innings, giving up five runs on five hits with one strikeout.
The Bulldogs struck first with one run in the opening frame, courtesy of a leadoff home run by Ben Anderson. This marked the seventh home run of the season for Anderson and the third time he’s led off a game with one, doing it in the season opener against Albany and game one against Florida.
Georgia added four runs in the second inning. With runners on first and second, Cole Wagner singled to center field, scoring one run. UGA plated the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to right field by Garrett Blaylock.
With runners on the corners, Cory Acton striped an RBI single to center field to plate the third run, while Connor Tate singled to center field to score the fourth and final run of the inning, giving the Bulldogs a 5-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Georgia added seven runs. With the bases loaded, Blaylock striped a single to left field, scoring two runs. Next up, with runners on the corners, Rogers hits a three-run home run to right field to give the Bulldogs a 10-run lead. With two outs, Anderson scored on a fielding error by the third baseman, while Harber plated a run on an RBI double down the left-field line to give UGA a 12-0 edge.
Georgia State broke the Georgia shutout in the seventh inning, plating a run on a bases-loaded wild pitch. In the bottom on the inning, Harber unleashed on a fastball, sending a solo shot run to deep right-center field. Georgia added three more runs in the eighth on a Blaylock RBI double, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly by Buddy Floyd for the final.
Georgia will return to SEC play on the road, with a three-game series against No. 22 LSU starting Friday. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET (SECN+).
