Tuesday, March 27
Athens, Ga..
6 p.m.
University of Georgia
19-6
7
vs
0
Charleston Southern
8-18
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2
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4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Charleston Southern
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
2
Georgia Bulldogs
0
0
6
1
0
0
0
0
X
7
9
0
Photo by: Steffenie Burns
#23 Bulldogs Blank CSU for Seventh Win in a Row
March 27, 2018 | Baseball
ATHENS, Ga. – Behind a staff day of five pitchers, No. 23 Georgia shut out Charleston Southern 7-0, extending the Bulldogs' win streak to seven games Tuesday evening at Foley Field.
The shutout marks the fourth this season for Georgia and its second in a row. Seven wins in a row is the longest win streak since the 2014 team tallied 11 straight. The victory improves Georgia's record to 19-6 on the season.
Blake Cairnes, C.J. Smith, Adam Goodman, and Will Proctor joined starter Tony Locey for the combined shutout. Cairnes (1-0) tossed the most innings, three, to earn the win, while facing 10 batters and not relinquishing a hit.
Serving as the catalyst offensively, freshman Ivan Johnson (3-for-3) registered his first career multi-hit game and reached on a walk to reach safely four times in the game. The switch hitter had a hit from each side of the dish.
Pouring in six runs in the bottom of the third inning, the Bulldogs broke open the scoreless tie that was the first five frames.
Johnson initiated the scoring, finding the left-center gap for a single to plate LJ Talley who hit a leadoff double off the right-field wall. After Austin Biggar drew a walk, Tucker Bradley poked a single to right, and hustling to third was Biggar, which prompted a throw that allowed Bradley to move up. In the next at-bat, a misplayed grounder by the CSU third baseman scored both Biggar and Bradley.
Schunk, who reached on the error, circled around to score on Keegan McGovern's ensuing double off the right field wall, causing the Buccaneers to relieve starter Jaret Bennett (0-3). Michael Curry welcomed relief pitcher Wil Hartsell by clanking the right-field foul with his fifth home run of the year for the 6-0 Georgia lead.
An insurance run and eventual final score came in the fourth and was again started from Johnson who doubled to left field. Advancing to third on a wild pitch, he was just 90 feet away from the plate when Biggar doubled to center.
The Georgia pitching staff limited the Buccaneers on the base paths as only three runners reached second base. Locey yielded two singles to open the game, before inducing a pop out and a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat. The next Buccaneer runner to reach second did not occur until the 7th, and was left stranded. In the eighth, CSU had runners on first and second, but a 2-3 double-play groundout ended the inning.
Dawg Tracks
- Tucker Bradley, Keegan McGovern and Michael Curry each have reached base safely in 15 straight games. LJ Talley extended his streak to nine games.
- McGovern now has seven doubles and a team-leading 30 RBIs.
- Curry's home run was his 26th in his career and it extended his hit streak to a team-high 11 games.
- Georgia has nine more wins than it had last year on March 27th.
Coaches Corner
Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On the defense improving…
"I thought our defense was better tonight. We're fielding at a very high clip these last 13 games and if we continue to do that, we're going to be tough to beat. … Our pitchers have a lot of confidence right now because they know the guys behind them are making plays. Our first 12 games of the year, we fielded at .965, which is not really good. With the last 13 games, it probably puts us up around .987-.988 with no errors today and that's elite-level defense. So these last 13 games, we've played a different level of defense and that gives our pitchers more confidence."
On Ivan Johnson's three-hit performance…
"Ivan's a guy with a tremendous amount of upside and we've seen some really good stuff out of him. The biggest thing is he needs to be more consistent as a player and most freshman are like that. It was great to get him a start tonight and great to see him have good at bats; even his last at bat, he fell behind 0-2 and ends up walking which is encouraging. He played great defense, making three or four really good plays. He's got a huge future and he's going to factor into a lot of things moving forward."
Player's Perspective
Second baseman #3 Ivan Johnson
On how the team has been swinging the bats…
"We've been swinging the bats well as a team, hitting is contagious. I just try to make the most of every opportunity I get. I feel really confident in my swing but we lost to these guys last time out so we wanted to get out there and prove who the better team was."
Up Next
The Bulldogs continue their home stand and Southeastern Conference play with a three-game series against No. 15 Texas A&M, starting Thursday, March 27 at 7 p.m. ET.
To purchase tickets at a discounted $2, please visit UGA online ticket office and enter the promo code DAWGS. Tickets are for reserved seats and subject to availability. The promotional code offer expires Tuesday, March 27 at 11:59 p.m.
The shutout marks the fourth this season for Georgia and its second in a row. Seven wins in a row is the longest win streak since the 2014 team tallied 11 straight. The victory improves Georgia's record to 19-6 on the season.
Blake Cairnes, C.J. Smith, Adam Goodman, and Will Proctor joined starter Tony Locey for the combined shutout. Cairnes (1-0) tossed the most innings, three, to earn the win, while facing 10 batters and not relinquishing a hit.
Serving as the catalyst offensively, freshman Ivan Johnson (3-for-3) registered his first career multi-hit game and reached on a walk to reach safely four times in the game. The switch hitter had a hit from each side of the dish.
Pouring in six runs in the bottom of the third inning, the Bulldogs broke open the scoreless tie that was the first five frames.
Johnson initiated the scoring, finding the left-center gap for a single to plate LJ Talley who hit a leadoff double off the right-field wall. After Austin Biggar drew a walk, Tucker Bradley poked a single to right, and hustling to third was Biggar, which prompted a throw that allowed Bradley to move up. In the next at-bat, a misplayed grounder by the CSU third baseman scored both Biggar and Bradley.
Schunk, who reached on the error, circled around to score on Keegan McGovern's ensuing double off the right field wall, causing the Buccaneers to relieve starter Jaret Bennett (0-3). Michael Curry welcomed relief pitcher Wil Hartsell by clanking the right-field foul with his fifth home run of the year for the 6-0 Georgia lead.
An insurance run and eventual final score came in the fourth and was again started from Johnson who doubled to left field. Advancing to third on a wild pitch, he was just 90 feet away from the plate when Biggar doubled to center.
The Georgia pitching staff limited the Buccaneers on the base paths as only three runners reached second base. Locey yielded two singles to open the game, before inducing a pop out and a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat. The next Buccaneer runner to reach second did not occur until the 7th, and was left stranded. In the eighth, CSU had runners on first and second, but a 2-3 double-play groundout ended the inning.
Dawg Tracks
- Tucker Bradley, Keegan McGovern and Michael Curry each have reached base safely in 15 straight games. LJ Talley extended his streak to nine games.
- McGovern now has seven doubles and a team-leading 30 RBIs.
- Curry's home run was his 26th in his career and it extended his hit streak to a team-high 11 games.
- Georgia has nine more wins than it had last year on March 27th.
Coaches Corner
Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On the defense improving…
"I thought our defense was better tonight. We're fielding at a very high clip these last 13 games and if we continue to do that, we're going to be tough to beat. … Our pitchers have a lot of confidence right now because they know the guys behind them are making plays. Our first 12 games of the year, we fielded at .965, which is not really good. With the last 13 games, it probably puts us up around .987-.988 with no errors today and that's elite-level defense. So these last 13 games, we've played a different level of defense and that gives our pitchers more confidence."
On Ivan Johnson's three-hit performance…
"Ivan's a guy with a tremendous amount of upside and we've seen some really good stuff out of him. The biggest thing is he needs to be more consistent as a player and most freshman are like that. It was great to get him a start tonight and great to see him have good at bats; even his last at bat, he fell behind 0-2 and ends up walking which is encouraging. He played great defense, making three or four really good plays. He's got a huge future and he's going to factor into a lot of things moving forward."
Player's Perspective
Second baseman #3 Ivan Johnson
On how the team has been swinging the bats…
"We've been swinging the bats well as a team, hitting is contagious. I just try to make the most of every opportunity I get. I feel really confident in my swing but we lost to these guys last time out so we wanted to get out there and prove who the better team was."
Up Next
The Bulldogs continue their home stand and Southeastern Conference play with a three-game series against No. 15 Texas A&M, starting Thursday, March 27 at 7 p.m. ET.
To purchase tickets at a discounted $2, please visit UGA online ticket office and enter the promo code DAWGS. Tickets are for reserved seats and subject to availability. The promotional code offer expires Tuesday, March 27 at 11:59 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cairnes, Blake (1-0)
L: BENNETT, Jaret (0-3)
Batting:
2B: RIZK, Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: McGovern, Keegan 1 ; Talley, LJ 1 ; Johnson, Ivan 1 ; Biggar, Austin 1
HR: Curry, Michael 1
RBI: Schunk, Aaron 1 ; McGovern, Keegan 1 ; Curry, Michael 2 ; Johnson, Ivan 1 ; Biggar, Austin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bradley, Tucker 1 ; Schunk, Aaron 1 ; McGovern, Keegan 1 ; Curry, Michael 1 ; Talley, LJ 1 ; Johnson, Ivan 1 ; Biggar, Austin 1
SB: Johnson, Ivan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
ph/lf
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballOF/LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF/C
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP/INF
/ Baseball
LHP/OF
/ Baseball
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