3/17/19 4:45pm

Georgia Baseball Sweeps South Carolina in Columbia

Cover Photo: @BaseballUGA/Twitter

By. Andrew Rodberg

As the UGA Baseball season got underway, the Dawgs opened up SEC play by traveling to Columbia, SC to face the Gamecocks in a three game series. With that being said, on Friday, the Dawgs sent Emerson Hancock to the mound to open up the series. In a much needed series opening game, Hancock delivered with a stellar performance, dishing out 12 strikeouts and giving up a solo home run. With Hancock holding his own, the Dawgs relied on the offense to get going and everyone contributed. A John Cable home-run,  Aaron Schunk triple, Mason Meadows fly out and a Patrick Sullivan double gave the Dawgs a Game #1 6-1 victory.

As Saturday rolled around, Game #2 got started behind the arm of Dawgs’ starting pitcher CJ Smith. In doing so, Smith got hit pretty hard early as the Gamecocks jumped out to a 5-1 lead through the first three innings but the Dawgs weren’t going to go away. After pitching 3 innings, Smith ended his outing with three strikeouts and five earned runs. The Dawgs then began to reel the Gamecocks back in as they scored four runs in the 4th to tie the game up at 5-5 (courtesy of two singles by Tucker Maxwell and Riley King and a fly out by Aaron Schunk). South Carolina quickly regained the lead in the bottom of the 4th but the Dawgs put them away with another big inning. In the 5th, the Dawgs took the lead once more and this time wouldn’t relinquish it. Dawgs win Game #2, 8-7.

On Sunday, the Dawgs went for the sweep and sent out Tony Locey to close out the series. A lot like the first game with Hancock, Locey put together almost the same numbers as he gave up a single in the 5th that resulted in 1 earned run while striking out 11 batters. The Dawgs bullpen then went to work and held the Gamecocks in check until the offense could get going. That came in the top of the 9th inning when Mason Meadows hit a leadoff double to put some pressure on South Carolina. A single by John Cable and a home-run by Tucker Maxwell gave the Dawgs a 4-1 lead and ultimately the series sweep. Dawgs win Game #3, 4-2.

With the Dawgs sweeping the #22 team in the Nation, South Carolina, they now head back home with a 18-2 record to face the Georgia State Panthers on Tuesday night before hosting the #13 LSU Tigers in a three game series starting Friday March 22nd.

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