Pair of high scoring innings lift Georgia baseball past Georgia State

The No. 17 ranked Georgia baseball used two high-scoring innings and solid pitching to take down the Georgia State Panthers by a score of 10-3 Tuesday night.

This victory was the second game the Diamond Dawgs have played in the home of the Gwinnett Stripers this season, the first being a 12-3 rout of Georgia Tech on March 6.

The game started shaky for the Bulldogs. Freshman Coleman Willis was roughed up in the first two innings, allowing two runs in the first and a solo home run by Panther third baseman Caleb Stewart in the second inning, giving Georgia State a 3-0 lead.

The Diamond Dawgs stormed back in the top of the third. Josh McCallister’s single brought home Chaney Rogers and Garrett Spikes. Two more runs would score on a walk/passed ball to give Georgia a lead they would never relinquish.

Georgia baseball thrived on another neutral field, earning another victory on the season.

Pitcher Bryce Melear would relieve Willis, who was pulled after two innings and began to dominate Georgia State’s lineup. He went three innings and allowed two hits, one walk, and struck out seven. The Dawgs struck out a total of 16 Panther batters.

Georgia exploded on offense again in the eighth inning. Ben Anderson and Corey Collins took walks to bring in two Bulldog runs before Connor Tate doubled in more runs. Anderson extended his on-base streak to 19 games with his 3-for-5 day at the plate.

Josh McCallister and Connor Tate both collected two RBIs each as well.

As impressive as the offensive outbursts were, Georgia’s pitching was equally as great tonight. After allowing runs in the first two innings, the bullpen settled things down and shut out the Panthers for the rest of the game.

Georgia now owns a record of 17-4 this season, while Georgia State fell to 14-7. The Bulldogs will have their first SEC road series this weekend when they travel to Kentucky to take on the Wildcats. Kentucky is 15-7 overall on the year and is 12-3 at home.