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Christopher Lakos
Georgia Sports Communications
Georgia beat Northern Colorado 11-1 in a seven-inning run-rule Sunday to improve to 16-1, which is the best start after 17 games in the modern era of Bulldog baseball.
The only team to top the 2024 Bulldogs, now in their first year under Ike Cousins head baseball coach Wes Johnson, would be the 1908 Southern Champions. The 1908 squad went 20-2, and the two losses were to professional teams. The 1992, 2009 and 2019 Georgia squads were 15-2 after 17 games.
Sophomore left-hander Jarvis Evans and the Bulldogs escaped a bases-loaded, nobody out jam in the first. Evans fielded a grounder from cleanup hitter Caden Wagner and fired home to Henry Hunter who stepped on the plate and threw to first baseman Fernando Gonzalez to complete a double play. Then, Evans got Austin Bunn to pop out to end the threat.
Georgia produced another early outburst to take control of the contest, scoring seven runs in the second inning. A bases-loaded walk to Dillon Carter got the inning going. For Carter, it was his team-leading 17th free pass. Charlie Condon (3-for-4, 2 RBI) made it 3-0 with a two-run double. After Dylan Goldstein reached to load the bases, Gonzalez cranked his second career grand slam for a 7-0 advantage. It marked Georgia’s sixth grand slam this week by five different players. That tally already ranks third best in a single season in school history. Georgia’s grand slam record for a season is eight set by the 2019 squad.
“It’s been crazy,” said Gonzalez of the Bulldog grand slams. “People always say that hitting is contagious, and I think that’s one of the biggest things. When you get hot and know you can do it, you get up there and believe. Coach Johnson preaches that a lot. Get up there and believe.”
The Bears and Bulldogs each scored a run in the third to make it 8-1. The Bulldogs added two in the sixth and one in the seventh to cap a four-game series sweep. As part of a planned staff outing, Evans notched a win to improve to 2-0. He went three innings with three strikeouts while Zach Harris, Max DeJong, Luke Wiltrakis and James Hays combined for four innings of scoreless and hitless relief.
“Our guys know it’s good for momentum as far as our start, but there’s a lot of teams that have really good non-conference records and do not make the tournament, said Johnson. “We all know you got to play good starting Friday, and you have to play good when it really starts to count. First, we’ll prepare for Iowa, a good team coming in Tuesday, and then we’ll focus on the start of SEC play when we go to Kentucky.”
The Bulldogs hit two more home runs Sunday to raise their NCAA-leading total to 48 this season. Gonzalez’s grand slam was his fourth home run this season and the second grand slam of his career. Goldstein smacked his sixth home run, a solo shot in the sixth inning.
Georgia returns to action Tuesday when it plays host to Iowa. First pitch will be at 5:02 p.m. The game will be available on SECN+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.