ATLANTA — Georgia blasted six home runs as part of a 15-hit attack to defeat 16th-ranked Georgia Tech 16-6 to clinch the season series Saturday in front of a Russ Chandler Stadium crowd of 3,394.
Georgia (8-2) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first courtesy of a wild pitch by left-hander Josiah Siegel. The Bulldogs had runners at second and third and nobody out when graduate Mason LaPlante raced home on the wild offering. He led off the game with a nine-pitch at bat, working a walk after falling behind in the count 0-2. LaPlante moved to third on a double to left by graduate Connor Tate, who extended his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games. In the second, graduate Will David made it 2-0 when he crushed a solo home run, his first as a Bulldog and seventh of his career. Tech (9-2) cut the deficit in half in the second as Jack Rubenstein reached on a leadoff triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by John Giesler.
The Bulldog offense responded in the third and chased Tech left-hander Josiah Siegel after a one-out single by Tate and a four-pitch walk to Charlie Condon. Tech turned to Aeden Finateri and Park Harber smashed his fist offering over the right field fence. The opposite field blast was his team-leading fifth and extended Georgia’s lead to 5-1. Tech got an unearned run in its half of the third to make it 5-2.
A day after not hitting a home run for the first game all season in Friday’s 7-2 win over Tech, Georgia blasted a couple more in a three-run fourth. With one out, Ben Anderson hit his second home run of the year. With one on and two outs, Condon launched his third of the year to dead centerfield for an 8-2 lead. In the fifth, a two-out run-scoring double by Sebastian Murillo gave the Bulldogs a 9-2 advantage.
Georgia junior left-hander Liam Sullivan got the start and provided 5.1 innings for the win to improve to 2-0. He allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. Georgia turned to freshman Kolten Smith with one on and one out, and he promptly struck out the next two Tech hitters to end the frame. Smith went 1.2 innings and Will Pearson, Max DeJong and DJ Radtke took care of Tech the rest of the way.
The Bulldog continued to pour it on with a five-run outburst in the seventh. Anderson notched an RBI-single, Tate added a two-run single and Condon connected for his second home run of the day, a two-run shot to cap the frame, making it 14-2. In the eighth, freshman Josh Tate delivered a pinch-hit, two-run home run for the first hit of his career and a 16-3 lead.
“We have a really good lineup, and they have power, and we kept the pressure on every inning,” said Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin. “We scored in seven of the nine innings today, and we got home runs throughout the lineup. I thought Liam (Sullivan) pitched really well. We have a chance to sweep the series, and I know Georgia Tech will come out ready Sunday.”
The three-game series concludes Sunday at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville in the 20th annual Spring Baseball Classic to benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. First pitch is slated for 3:02 p.m. (SECN) and be carried on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
