Georgia hitters saved their best for last in Friday’s matchup against the undefeated Santa Clara Broncos, scoring eight runs in their final three turns at the plate to expand an early 1-0 lead into a 9-0 blowout final.

For the first two innings, Santa Clara pitcher Matthew McGarry silenced the Georgia lineup, recording six outs on six consecutive batters.

“Their starter was really good,” redshirt junior Tucker Bradley said. “[McGarry] had electric stuff, really.”

The Bulldogs remained quiet at the plate through the third inning, but unforced errors helped drive up McGarry’s pitch count and give batters a chance to settle in.

Three third inning walks gave Georgia its first baserunners of the contest. Bradley capitalized with two men out and the bases loaded, drawing first blood on an RBI single. Garrett Blaylock’s subsequent strikeout left three runners stranded to end Georgia’s first productive sequence of the night at 1-0.

Two more quiet innings followed as both teams combined for one hit. Meager offense was overshadowed by the pitching duel between McGarry and Georgia’s Emerson Hancock, who returned to the mound following a disappointing opening day start to pitch seven scoreless innings.

While Georgia would soon turn the tide offensively, Santa Clara’s two hits in its first two at-bats against Hancock would be the entirety of their attack from the plate.

Another Santa Clara right-hander relieved McGarry in the sixth, but Bradley picked up where he left off and knocked his second home run of the season to move Georgia’s lead to 2-0. A fourth walk and a wild pitch allowed Riley King to reach second, and first baseman Patrick Sullivan tacked on another run with an RBI single.

“Once we got to the bullpen, we were able to string some good at-bats together,” Bradley said. 

With a 3-0 lead, Hancock quickly retired three Bronco batters in the seventh to cap off his two-hit performance. His momentum from the mound energized the Bulldog dugout as they looked to seal the deal late.

The Georgia bats finally reached full tilt in the bottom of the seventh just as Santa Clara’s pitching began to break down. Four singles — including a well-placed bunt by Ben Anderson — and a Cam Shepherd sacrifice fly were met with four total walks from successive right-handed pitchers to give Georgia a comfortable 8-0 cushion.

Singles and walks allowed Georgia to keep the bases loaded for the majority of the seventh inning. While the lineup showcased its ability to put the ball in play, only two of the Bulldogs’ five seventh-inning RBIs came from batted balls. 

Shepherd’s sac fly opened the floodgates, and Bradley’s third hit of the evening notched his third RBI of the game and ninth of the season. The other three runs came home thanks to Santa Clara pitchers missing the zone.

“We just call it grinding at-bats out,” Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin said. “If you grind an at-bat out that means you’re not necessarily swinging at the first pitch. … You’re able to foul some pitches off. You’re able to draw a walk.”

Two final hits in the bottom of the eighth brought Georgia’s final run tally to nine.

Against four right-handed pitchers, Georgia left-handed batters accounted for nine of the team’s 11 hits. As much as the Bulldog offense came alive in the final third of the game, a flawed strategy and even poorer execution by the Santa Clara bullpen helped Georgia earn its fifth win of the season.

Printed with permission from The Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Georgia; redandblack.com/sports