Friday, February 16
Athens, Ga.
5 p.m.
University of Georgia
1-0
22
vs
9
Georgia Southern
0-1
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6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Ga. Southern
0
0
4
0
3
0
0
2
0
9
8
4
Georgia Bulldogs
0
0
2
0
6
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6
5
X
22
19
3
Record-Breaking Season Opener for Bulldogs
February 16, 2018 | Baseball
Highlights
Interviews
The 22 runs set a Georgia record in an Opening Day game passing the mark set in 1982, a 21-5 win versus Florida State. The last time the Bulldogs scored over 20 runs was in 2014 against Western Kentucky, a 26-7 win.
Leading the charge was sophomore Cam Shepherd (4-4, IBB, 3 RBI) and junior Michael Curry (3-5, Grand Slam, 5 RBI) who combined to go 7-for-9 with eight RBIs and five runs. Sophomore Tucker Maxell also registered three hits and added two RBIs. Junior Adam Sasser and redshirt freshman Mason Meadows chipped in multi-RBI games as well.
The Eagles struck first with four runs in the third, however the Bulldogs got half of the runs back in the bottom half of the inning. The Eagles then built a five-run advantage with three runs in the fifth, but Georgia countered with six runs in the bottom half of the frame to take its first lead that was not relinquished. Georgia would go on to score 15 unanswered runs until the Eagles score two in the eighth.
Shepherd initiated the scoring in the fifth with a two-run double that brought in Keegan McGovern and Tucker Bradley, while forcing GSU starter Brian Eichhorn out of the game. A few pitches into the new reliever, Shepherd hustled from second to score on a passed ball. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Meadows who took a four-pitch walk. Next, Maxwell poked a single into shallow left field that scored Patrick Sullivan and LJ Talley for the lead change at 8-7.
Georgia chipped in three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take an 11-7 advantage. Shepherd's fourth hit of the game scored McGovern who reached on his second walk of the game. Curry singled in Shepherd for his first RBI of the season and then later scored on a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs poured on the runs in the seventh by a tone of six. With first base open and runners on second and third, Georgia Southern intentionally walked Shepherd to load the bases. Curry's grand slam minutes later made it a 15-7 Georgia lead. A five-run eighth ultimately set the Opening Day run record.
Georgia starter Kevin Smith departed in the fifth inning with a final line of 4.1 innings pitching, six runs on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Sophomore reliever Tony Locey (1-0) received the win after pitching two scoreless innings of relief and tallying two strikeouts.
Dawg Tracks
-Redshirt freshman Mason Meadows got the starting nod behind the plate for the Bulldogs. Last season, Georgia started five freshmen on Opening Day, the most since 2009. Four of those players made their second Opening Day start today (Tucker Bradley, Cam Shepherd, Aaron Schunk, and Tucker Maxwell).
-Cam Shepherd started off the season with a four-hit game and reached base five times due to a walk. It was his first career game that he reached safely five times. The shortstop had three games last season that he had four hits. Also, Shepherd recorded three RBIs, a feat he also only accomplished three times last year.
-A total of six freshmen recorded their first action (Chaney Rogers, Riley King, Cole Tate, Ivan Johnson, C.J. Smith and Meadows). All also recorded their first career hits except for King who entered as a pinch runner and scored.
Coach's Corner
Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
"We felt really good about our lineup no question about it. We just needed to get in the bullpen, (Brian) Eichhorn was really good for them but early in the season pitch count won't really run that high. So we told our guys to keep battling and be patient and get into the bullpen and anything can happen. Our lineup is very good and we felt very good about our bullpen. It didn't look good when it was 7-2 but we found a way to get it going and Cam Shepherd got us going with a double and Tony Locey shut the door. I thought he was the key to getting momentum going back in our favor going out there and put up two zeros."
Player's Perspective
Sophomore SS Cam Shepherd
"It gives everyone confidence. The first game is out of the way, the jitters are gone and tomorrow the confidence will carry over and hopefully we'll get some more runs."
Up Next
Georgia Southern remains in Athens on Saturday for game two of the three-game set at 1 p.m. at Foley Field.
Follow the Dawgs
For the latest on Georgia baseball, follow the Georgia baseball team on twitter (@baseballuga), Instagram (baseballuga), and Facebook (Georgia Baseball).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Locey, Tony (1-0)
L: Hayden Harris (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Tyler Martin 1
HR: Mason McWhorter 1 ; Noah Searcy 1
RBI: Tyler Martin 4 ; Mason McWhorter 2 ; Noah Searcy 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Steven Curry 2 ; Mitchell Golden 2 ; Tyler Martin 2 ; Mason McWhorter 1 ; Christian Avant 1 ; Noah Searcy 1
HBP: Steven Curry 1
Batting:
2B: McGovern, Keegan 1 ; Shepherd, Cam 1
3B: Talley, LJ 1
HR: Curry, Michael 1
RBI: Webb, Mitchell 1 ; McGovern, Keegan 1 ; Shepherd, Cam 3 ; Curry, Michael 5 ; Tate, Cole 1 ; Talley, LJ 1 ; Johnson, Ivan 1 ; Sasser, Adam 2 ; Meadows, Mason 2 ; Maxwell, Tucker 2
SF: Sasser, Adam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bradley, Tucker 3 ; McGovern, Keegan 3 ; Rogers, Chaney 1 ; Shepherd, Cam 3 ; Logan, Trey 1 ; Curry, Michael 2 ; King, Riley 1 ; Schunk, Aaron 1 ; Tate, Cole 2 ; Talley, LJ 2 ; Johnson, Ivan 1 ; Sullivan, Patrick 1 ; Maxwell, Tucker 1
HBP: Sullivan, Patrick 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
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4
RBI
3
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5
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2
H
3
RBI
5
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
3
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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