ATHENS, Ga. –The Georgia Bulldogs won a pair of seven-inning games over No. 10 Kentucky Sunday in front of a crowd of 2,763 to win their first SEC series of the year at Foley Field.
The Bulldogs (18-14, 3-9 SEC) blanked the Wildcats 3-0 in game one behind a complete game four-hitter from junior Liam Sullivan. In game two, redshirt junior Charlie Goldstein went 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts, both career-highs, to clinch the series in a 6-2 victory. Kentucky (27-5, 9-3 SEC) had won 23 of its last 24 games heading into Sunday’s action.
“We needed something good to happen, and they are a really good team,” Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin said. “Kentucky is number 10 in the country for a reason. They were 27-3 coming into this game. We needed to play the way that we are capable of playing. It has been a while since we have played like that. It is encouraging to see Liam Sullivan go out there and give us the complete game. Charlie Goldstein was really good. Leighton Finley did a great job out of the bullpen. We got some big hits. We needed to play better, get some confidence and get some mojo. That is all it is. You have got to turn your momentum, and we were able to do it today. It feels good.”
Game One Sunday: Georgia 3-0
Georgia claimed game two of the series as Sullivan became the first Bulldog since Cole Wilcox in 2019 against Florida to pitch an SEC seven-inning complete gave victory. It was Georgia’s first complete game SEC shutout by a pitcher since 2014 when Robert Tyler went nine innings in a 2-0 road win over Ole Miss in 2014.
Georgia grabbed a two-run lead in the third. Redshirt-junior Josh Stinson connected for his first career run-scoring double. With two runners on, redshirt freshman Charlie Condon knocked a single to right field to score Stinson. With bases loaded in the sixth, graduate Mason LaPlante reached on a fielder’s choice that scored freshman Justin Thomas, in to pinch run for junior Corey Collins who was walked earlier in the frame. That was plenty for Sullivan. Kentucky’s Tyler Bosma (4-2) got the loss after tossing three innings, allowing two runs off five hits with one walk.
“Jaden’s (Woods) big start on Friday set everything up for the weekend,” Sullivan said. “I think that helped Charlie out a lot in the second game. It was obvious they were struggling with lefties. We had our confidence coming into the game. It just took off from there.”
Game Two Sunday: Georgia 6-2
Junior Parks Harber set the tone with a three-run home run in the first as the Bulldogs tallied four home runs to help sweep the doubleheader. It was Harber’s 10th home run of the year,
The Bulldogs went up 4-0 on a leadoff homer from redshirt freshman Charlie Condon (3-for-4) in the third. Condon has a team-leading 13 home runs and now has reached base in 31 consecutive games.
Goldstein (1-1) struck out six of the first nine batters he faced and held the Wildcats scoreless until they scratched for a pair of runs in the sixth. Bulldog freshman Leighton Finley was called in from the bullpen in the sixth with one out and one Wildcat. He would provide 1.2 scoreless innings for his first career save.
Two solo homers in the sixth off the bats of junior Sebastian Murillo and graduate Connor Tate boosted the Bulldogs advantage to 6-2. The Bulldogs became the first SEC team to score more than five runs against the Wildcats this year as they feature one of the nation’s top pitching staffs. Kentucky’s Zack Lee (3-1) got the loss, allowing four runs off four hits with two walks in three innings.
The Bulldogs will return to Foley Field on Tuesday, April 11 to play host to the Clemson Tigers at 7 p.m. The game will be live on SEC Network
