Series Recap: Georgia defeats Lipscomb in final non-conference series of season

Georgia won its third series of the season by way of a sweep, taking all three games from Lipscomb this weekend at Foley Field. The Bulldogs, ranked as high as No. 18 in the country, are now 13-3 on the season with SEC play starting next weekend.

After an 8-3 Georgia win on Friday afternoon, the Bulldogs and Bisons were originally scheduled to play Game Two of the series on Saturday. However cold and windy weather caused a postponement until Sunday with a doubleheader. Georgia clinched the series in the first game of the twin bill, winning 9-2 before securing the sweep 9-5 in the second game of the day. DawgsHQ has a complete series recap below.

Friday (Georgia 8, Lipscomb 3)

Friday afternoon’s series-opener was owned by Jonathan Cannon and Corey Collins. The duo helped lead the Bulldogs to an 8-3 win as Cannon struck out a career-high 11 while Collins hit a pair of home runs. Cannon gave up just one run in his 6.0 innings of work, continuing on with a strong start to the season, and it came early. Lipscomb got on the board in the first before being held without any more runs until the seventh. That’s when Georgia made an error that cost it two runs. However, holding a 6-1 lead at the time of the mistake, the Bulldogs were just fine. Collins homered in the first inning to tie things at 1-1, Parks Harber scored in the second after a bases loaded hit by pitch to take the lead and Georgia never looked back. Harber would add another run in the fifth, crossing home on a two-out single to left center by Fernando Gonzalez who also scored twice himself in the victory. FULL RECAP

Sunday Game 1 (Georgia 9, Lipscomb 2)

Georgia got on the board in the first inning before several scoreless frames. For the Bulldogs, it was Liam Sullivan doing the dealing on the mound, helping keep the Bisons off the board for the entirety of his 5.0 innings pitched. Meanwhile, Ike Buxton did his part for Lipscomb after allowing the run in the first inning. Then things turned on a dime as the floodgates opened.

In the fifth inning, Parks Harber, who pinch hit for Chaney Rogers for a favorable lefty-righty matchup at the plate, singled to center to bring home Cole Wagner and Garrett Blaylock and make it 3-0 UGA. Another five runs in the sixth, now off of Matthew Bohnert, put the Dawgs at a distance and made Ethan Stamps’ seventh inning home run all for nothing but pride. The home run came off of Jaden Woods, who turned the ball over for the eighth and ninth innings to Nolan Crisp to seal the deal.

Sunday Game 2 (Georgia 9, Lipscomb 5)

Game Three of the series, and the second of the day, saw more competition. After scoring two in the first, Georgia found itself trailing when Lipscomb plated three in the second. The two teams traded runs in the third, making it 4-3 Lipscomb, before the Bulldogs were able to re-take the lead in the fifth. Dwight Allen led off the inning with a single to center field before going first to third on a single to center by Ben Anderson. Allen scored on the next batter, Cole Tate, while Anderson was the one going first to third this time. Two batters later, a Connor Tate sacrifice fly scored Anderson and put Georgia ahead.

Anderson wasn’t done though. On inning later, he gave Georgia some breathing room with a three-run home run, coming with two outs in the inning. His third long ball of the season also scored Chaney Rogers and Allen and made it 8-4 UGA. The Bulldogs added one more on a sacrifice bunt from Shane Marshall in the seventh, scoring Connor Tate, to cap off their action on the scoreboard. Lipscomb would hit a solo home run in the ninth with two outs, but that was it.

Meanwhile, on the mound, Luke Wagner and Chandler Marsh did their job in keeping Lipscomb off the scoreboard. Wagner took over for Garrett Brown, who was charged with all the game’s runs, in the third inning and left two runners on base with a strikeout to end the frame. He then was clean for 2.2 more, turning things over to Marsh for a scoreless 2.1 to get Georgia into the ninth. Jack Gowen shut things down for Georgia in the ninth, giving Wagner his fifth win of the season, best in the SEC.

Georgia will play one more game – Tuesday night at 5:00 p.m. against South Carolina Upstate at Foley Field – before beginning SEC play next weekend with a big test. Defending national champion Mississippi State comes to town to open the conference slate with a three-game series. Both Friday (7:00 p.m. ET) and Sunday’s (12:00 p.m. ET) games will be broadcast on SEC Network while Saturday (2:00 p.m.) serves as “Foley Fest,” a fan friendly celebration of the Bulldogs with live music, games, activities and food tents set up in the left field parking lot.

“The defending national champions coming to to town. We’re really looking forward to it,” Stricklin said. “It looks like the weather is going to cooperate. I think this place could be historic as far as the crowd goes. It’s exciting to think about next weekend.”

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