Georgia senior Keegan McGovern blasted two home runs and drove in five to lead the Bulldogs to a 12-2 win over Georgia State Tuesday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
The Bulldogs (15-6) continued their recent trend of striking early, building a 5-1 advantage through the first three innings. Georgia scored three runs on three hits in the first including RBI-doubles from McGovern (3-for-3, 4R, 2HR, 5 RBI) and junior Adam Sasser. The Panthers (11-10) got one run back in their first at bat as Nick Gatewood notched his fifth home run of the year. In the third, McGovern added a two-run home run, his eighth of the year, to put Georgia in front 5-1.
Also of note, Georgia sophomore third baseman Aaron Schunk extended his career-best hitting streak to 16 games with a single in the first inning. Schunk was hit by a pitch to start the fifth. McGovern stepped up and smashed his second two-run home run of the contest. LJ Talley added a two-out RBI-double to put Georgia ahead 8-1.
Junior Kevin Smith tossed two scoreless innings of relief for the victory to improve to 3-1 while GSU starter Craig Williams dropped to 1-1, allowing, three runs on three hits, all in the first inning. Sophomore Tim Elliott started for the Bulldogs and allowed one run on three hits in the first two frames. Panther right fielder hit a solo home run off senior Blake Cairnes in the sixth to make it 8-2.
In the seventh, Bulldog junior right fielder Michael Curry hit a two-run home run for a 10-2 lead. Georgia added two runs in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk to Patrick Sullivan and Cole Tate was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for a 12-2 advantage. Carines wound up providing three innings of relief with C.J. Smith and Adam Goodman taking care of the final two innings.
“We’ve been able to score some early runs lately and tonight we were able to expand on our lead,” said Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin. “It was good to get a lot of guys out there some playing time because everybody has been working hard. Now, we have to focus on getting ready for a talented South Carolina team, and it will be good to be playing at home for a while.”
Georgia returns to SEC action on Friday when it plays host to South Carolina. First pitch at Foley Field will be at 7:02 p.m. The entire series will be available on SEC Network+ and the Bulldog Sports Network from IMG.
This story first appeared on www.georgiadogs.com.