KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The 22nd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs crushed fifth-ranked Tennesseeon on Friday, 16-2, in seven innings due to the run-rule in front of 5,575 fans at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Georgia senior first baseman Corey Collins, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, went 2-for-3 with two home runs and six RBI to lead a 14-hit attack. The Bulldogs (22-4, 4-3 SEC), who lead the country in home runs, crushed four more Friday to give them 78 on the year as the Vols (22-5, 3-4 SEC) lost for just the second time at home.
Also, it marked the first time they had been run-ruled at home since the SEC put the rule in last year. Bulldog graduate Charlie Goldstein provided six strong innings, scattering nine hits, two unearned runs, no walks and three strikeouts to improve to 4-0.
The Bulldogs exploded for six runs on four hits in the second inning, sending 10 men to the plate. With one out and the bases loaded, sophomore Kolby Branch drilled an 0-2 offering to the gap in left center for a bases-clearing double. Freshman Trey King collected his first career hit in his first SEC start and then Collins smashed his 11th home run, a three-run shot to make it 6-0.
Bulldog junior Henry Hunter led off the third with a single and senior Fernando Gonzalez made it 8-0 with a two-run home run, his fifth of the year. With two on and two out, the Vols lifted junior AJ Causey in favor of Chris Stamos. Coming in Friday, Causey had a 5-0 mark and 1.91 ERA, allowing only seven earned runs on the year. However, the Bulldogs tagged him for eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits in 2.2 innings as he dropped to 5-1.
The Vols cut it to 8-2 in their half of the third. They loaded bases with nobody out when Goldstein got Christian Moore to bounce into a double play. With two outs, Kavares Tears lined a run-scoring to double before the Bulldogs escaped further damage. The Vols put two on with nobody out in the fourth and came up empty as Goldstein got Cannon Peebles to flyout and then the Bulldogs turned another double play.
In the fifth, Branch led off with a walk and took second on a sacrifice bunt by King. UT went to the bullpen in freshman Derek Schaefer. Collins drew a walk before Schaefer came back to strike out Charlie Condon. However, Slate Alford delivered a two-run double and Dylan Goldstein followed with a run-scoring doubles to push the lead to 11-2.
“We came out and Charlie attacked the strike zone, we played good defense and got timely hitting,” said Georgia coach Wes Johnson said. “Our offense did a phenomenal job early in the game of not chasing and pushed their starter into some counts that were favorable to us. We got some good swings and did some damage. What Corey Collins is doing right now is hard to talk about. It’s impressive. We had a lot of good hits up and down the lineup. We turned some big double plays and made plays around the diamond including Charlie Condon in centerfield.”
In the sixth, Clayton Chadwick collected his third home run of the season. After Branch and King reached with singles, Collins struck again with another three-run home run for a 15-2 advantage. Last week, Collins batted .647 (11-for-17) with six home runs and 13 RBI in four games. In the seventh, Georgia added its final run on a sacrifice fly Gonzalez. Graduate Brian Zeldin took care of the Vols in the seventh including a pair of strikeouts.
The series continues Saturday with first pitch at 5:02 p.m. in Knoxville.
