ATHENS, Ga. — Kolby Branch and Tre Phelps homered and drove in three runs apiece to lead 24th-ranked Georgia to a 10-1 victory over Georgia State Tuesday at Foley Field.
The Bulldogs (23-6) used a staff approach on the mound as nine pitchers saw action while the Panthers (15-13) employed eight. Sophomore Kolten Smith improved to 3-2 while Duncan Lutz fell to 0-1. Smith was one of eight Bulldogs to pitch a scoreless frame, and he struck out two while the staff did not walk a batter and collected eight strikeouts.
The Panthers struck first with a run in the first, and the Bulldogs answered with three runs in the second and three more in the third to build a 6-1 lead. A two-run single by senior Corey Collins put Georgia in front. Charlie Condon followed with a sacrifice fly to cap the scoring. In the third, Phelps (3-for-5, 3 RBI) made it 4-1 with a solo home run and two batters later, Branch (3-for-3, 3 RBI) delivered a two-run blast for a 6-1 advantage. For Branch, it was his eighth home run of the year and extended his hitting streak to seven games. In the fourth, Phelps struck again with a two-out, run-scoring double for a 7-1 lead. Georgia added two more runs in the sixth and one in the eighth for the final.
“We put a lot of work in with the staff, and our goal every day we have to get better,” said Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson. “We’re learning how to attack the strike zone, but attack it with quality pitches. Anytime you can go through and not walk anybody is good. We gave up two hits in the first and then the next one was in the seventh. The pitching staff did a great job tonight. Also, the bottom of the lineup came through when the top half of the order took some walks. Tre and Kolby had big homers and Fernando came through with a big hit too.”
Georgia returns to action Friday at No. 19 Mississippi State. First pitch will be at 7:02 p.m.
