ATHENS — The Georgia Bulldogs gave coach Scott Stricklin just what the doctor ordered.
Stricklin, still quarantined at home while recovering from COVID-19, watched on television as his team stepped up with what turned out to be a historic performance at Clemson. Eight UGA pitchers combined to lead the No. 23 Bulldogs to a 2-0 win over the school’s long-time baseball rivals.
It was the first time since 1936 that UGA shut out the Tigers on their home field. Freshman left-hander Charlie Goldstein was awarded the win in one inning of work on a “staff night” in which Georgia pitchers gave up only five hits. Their work was witnessed in person by a socially-distanced crowd of 1,280 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium and an ACC Network TV audience.
Freshman Will Pearson provided two scoreless frames and two strikeouts following Goldstein. Jack Gowen was next and allowed a hit and a walk and struck out two in the fourth. Collin Caldwell started the fifth and went 1.1 innings. Nolan Crisp and Michael Polk each pitched an inning. Ben Harris was the seventh pitcher of the night but left with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of eighth inning.
Darryn Pasqua came on and extinguished the threat with three strikeouts. Clemson finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“Darryn came into a tough situation and threw with a lot of confidence,” said Scott Daeley, serving as interim head coach in Stricklin’s absence. “He had a calm demeanor and attacked their hitters.”
Georgia (17-7, 2-4 SEC) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Riley King drew a leadoff walk, took second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Parks Harber. In the fourth, Harber made it 2-0 on a fielder’s choice that scored Corey Collins, who had drawn a leadoff walk.
“Offensively, I thought we swung the batters better even though we had just six hits,” Daeley said. “We had a chance to extend the lead a few times and didn’t. It was a mixed bag. We have to execute better when we have chances to score.”
With its second win in a row, the Bulldogs hope to carry the momentum into the week. Georgia will host No. 14 South Carolina (17-6) in a three-game series that starts Friday night.
The plan is for Stricklin to see that one in person. Pending doctors’ orders, of course.
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