Georgia Powers Past Aggies, 11-5

Thursday, March 29

Athens, Ga.

5 p.m.

University of Georgia

20-6, 6-1

Texas A&M

20-7, 2-5

Texas A&M

Georgia Bulldogs

Photo by: Steffenie Burns

March 29, 2018 | Baseball

Box Score Boxscore G26

Highlights

Interviews

ATHENS, Ga. – A persistent performance from the Georgia bats lifted the No. 24 Bulldog baseball team over the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies in the first game of the series at Foley Field on Thursday evening.

With the win, the Bulldogs (20-6, 6-1) claim their eight-straight win, starting 6-1 in the conference for the first time since 2002, when Georgia began SEC action 7-2. Texas A&M moves to 20-7 overall and 2-5 in the league.

The Aggies struck first in the top of opening inning, led by Michael Helman, who extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a double. A single and a wild pitch pushed Helman home for the 1-0 Texas A&M edge. The Aggies tacked on another run in the third inning for the two-run advantage.

The Bulldogs offense came alive in the fourth frame, started by an Aaron Schunk single and Keegan McGovern walk. Schunk advanced to third on a Michael Curry sacrifice fly to right field and scored on a Cam Shepherd two-out RBI double into center field. The next Bulldog at-bat, Georgia took the 3-2 lead with a go-ahead single into left from junior Adam Sasser, who picked up two RBI.

Texas A&M followed the Bulldogs in the top of the fifth, with Braden Shewmake hitting a two-run homerun over the right field wall.

In the bottom of the frame, Georgia returned with a four-run fifth. Freshman catcher Mason Meadows supplied the Bulldogs with a lead-off walk, before sophomore Tucker Maxwell reached base on a fielder's choice. To move into scoring position, the speedy center fielder stole second, followed by an RBI single up the middle from Tucker Bradley to knot the game at four.

Schunk was hit by a pitch to position Georgia runners on first and second, setting up a three-run homerun from Curry for the 7-4 Bulldog margin. Surrendering only his second home run of the season, Texas A&M starting pitcher Stephen Kolek exited the game after a Shepherd base hit.

After another lead-off walk from Meadows, Maxwell cushioned the Georgia lead to 9-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run home run to right. Curry notched his second of three hits on the night with an RBI single to center, before a bases-loaded walk sealed the Bulldog run production at 11.

Georgia starting right-handed pitcher Chase Adkins exited after five innings and improved to 3-0 on the season. Junior lefty Kevin Smith pitched three innings in relief, surrendering a lone solo shot before sophomore right-hander Zac Kristofak closed the game with a scoreless ninth, featuring a 4-6-3 double play.

Dawg Tracks

Michael Curry (3-for-5, 4 RBI) led the Bulldog offense with three hits on the game for the fourth time this season. With his sixth home run of the year, the DH, who leads the current Georgia roster with 27 career home runs, extended his hitting streak to 12 games. His four-RBI night was his fourth contest with four or more RBI, which also paces the Georgia squad.
Keegan McGovern (2-for-4), Tucker Bradley (2-for-4, 1 RBI) and Curry each reached base for the 16^th-straight game this season.
Sophomore Tucker Bradley produced another two-hit night for the Bulldogs. Alongside Curry, the right fielder leads the team with 11 multi-hit games on the season.
Junior Adam Sasser (1-for-3) matched his career high RBI on the night with three, marking his sixth multi-RBI game of the season.
Tucker Maxwell's (2-for-4, 2 RBI) second hit of the night came in the form of a home run, his first on the season and seventh of his career.

Coach's Corner
Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On the Georgia resilience in the early innings…
"We knew that tonight was going to be tough. Stephen Kolek is one of the best pitchers in our conference and he cruised through the first three innings. He throws inside fastballs so much and has really good command over his pitches. We had some great at-bats starting in the fourth inning and we just wanted to run his pitch count up and scratch some runs."

On sealing the win…
"We had some momentum once we got in to their bullpen. Tucker Maxwell had a great at-bat and it gave us a lot of confidence. Every time you can knock out an ace on Friday night, and yes he is an ace, it's a big confidence booster."

Player's Perspective
Junior DH Michael Curry
On the approach at the plate…
"I had my approach from the beginning. [Kolek], he threw a really good breaking ball, I couldn't see it, but somehow I was making contact. I don't know how, that's usually not me. I think I was trying to stay within myself. Breathing's a huge thing for me. Taking a deep breath. Staying in the moment. I just keep telling myself to stay in the moment."

On the team's confidence level…
"We're in a good spot. We're just playing baseball; that's the cool thing. We're not living in the hype or anything crazy like that. We're just coming out here and doing our thing and having fun."

Up Next
Georgia will face Texas A&M in game two of the series at Foley Field on Friday evening. The game will be available on SEC Network + at 7 p.m.