After suffering a hamstring injury May 4, Georgia outfielder Tucker Bradley was not a happy pup.
The team’s leadoff hitter spent the rest of the month mostly on the sidelines, recording but 12 at-bats in the last three weeks of the season, including a pinch-hit appearance against Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.
But Bradley bounced back in a big way in his return to the lineup in No. 8 Georgia’s first game of the NCAA Athens Regional on Saturday afternoon, drilling a grand slam in a pivotal fourth inning that saw the Bulldogs (38-19) score seven runs and pave the path for a first-round 18-5 come-from-behind victory over Campbell (35-25).
As much as Georgia coach Scott Stricklin would have liked to use him as the regular season came to a close, he knew it was in everyone’s best interest to ensure Bradley would be ready to go for the regional, the first time the Bulldogs have hosted since 2008.
“We obviously missed him,” said Stricklin of Bradley. “He’s the catalyst of our club, the leadoff guy. Not playing in Hoover was killing him, not playing at Florida was killing him, not playing against Arkansas was killing him. We just wanted to make sure he was healthy.”
As frustrating as it was to rehab, Bradley, who entered Saturday’s game hitting .296 with 61 hits, 35 runs and 18 RBIs, knew there was a bigger picture to embrace.
“It was tough watching guys out there competing and just sitting on the sidelines,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to play, but the main priority was getting to the postseason healthy. So getting that first at-bat out of the way was nice.”
At the plate for the first time since he recorded a hit against Ole Miss in the SEC tournament May 24, Bradley singled and then was hit by a pitch in his second at-bat, setting the stage for what was perhaps his biggest hit of the season.
In Georgia’s big fourth inning, Bradley came to bat with no outs and teammates on every base. His towering drive to right-center field against Campbell starter Wes Noble gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game and set the pace for advancement in the regional.
“I was just trying to see something up,” said Bradley of his third home run of the season. “I was thinking a curveball was coming, and I reacted and was trying to hit something in the gap. And when I hit it, I knew it had a chance and I was hoping to at least get it in the gap. Coming around third and seeing all the guys jacked up was just awesome.”
“He’s a gamer… and it’s big to have him back in the lineup,” said Stricklin, who pulled Bradley in the eighth inning. “I’ve got to get out of the habit of asking if he’s OK. I don’t know if he’s made of glass or what, but I’m worried he’ll pull that hamstring again. So we got him out of there early.”
The home run has been a notable component of Georgia’s attack this spring, and the four home runs parked against Campbell gave Georgia 59 for the season, was the seventh game in which a grand slam was recorded and was the team’s first four-home run game of the season (the Bulldogs have six three-homer games).
Shortstop Cam Shepherd hit a two-run home run in the second inning (his fifth of the year), first baseman Adam Sasser added a two-run drive in the fifth inning (his 10th) and Keegan McGovern recorded his team-leading 16th home run in the seventh inning. Campbell also played long ball with two home runs Saturday.
“I thought we had a lot of really good at-bats,” Stricklin said. “Today was a good day to hit. The wind was blowing out a little bit. … We put a good swing on it and barreled it up. It just shows the strength in our lineup – four home runs from four different guys. It’s not just one guy in our lineup.”
The Bulldogs were set to face Troy on Saturday evening as the Athens Regional was played under sunny skies after a rainy Friday that saw Troy endure a five-hour delay before claiming a 6-0 first-round victory over Duke and saw Georgia move its first game from Friday night to Saturday afternoon.
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