With Georgia Tech on deck for a big three-game series starting Friday at Foley Field, Tuesday’s 15-1 rout of visiting Kennesaw State was a welcome sign.

The top three in Georgia’s order accounted for much of the damage.

Between them, lead off batter Ben Anderson, shortstop Cam Shepherd, and left fielder Tucker Bradley went a combined 6-for 7 with three homers, two doubles, eight RBI, and eight runs scored.

Shepherd accounted for two of the homers—a two- and a three-run shot—to finish with five RBIs, while Bradley went deep for the fourth time and drove in three, giving him a team-best 13.

“They’re really tough outs; they’re really good baseball players,” head coach Scott Stricklin said. “But they’re tough guys to get out, and pitchers having to get them out is tough right out of the chute.”

Facing Kennesaw State’s Luke Torbert (0-2) for the second time in a week, the Bulldogs (8-1) opened with three quick runs in the first inning, getting a two-run homer from Shepherd, followed by Bradley’s solo shot that landed just below the black retaining wall on top of Kudzu Hill.

“That was probably the farthest I’ve ever hit ball,” Bradley said. “It was kind of a blackout moment; my body kind of went numb. It was pretty cool.”

There was much more to come.

A nine-run third sparked by Shepherd’s second homer—a three-run opposite field blast to right and a pair of two-run doubles by Bradley and Cole Tate—keyed the inning.

Redshirt freshman pitcher Garrett Brown was the evening’s other big story.

Making his second start against Kennesaw State (4-4) in a week, the 6-foot-8 right-hander scattered just three hits and two walks, with eight strikeouts, to pick up his first-career win.

A key moment in the game came in the fourth, after Brown allowed the first two batters to reach, before running the count to 3-0 on the third Owl hitter. That’s when pitching coach Sean Kenny made a visit to the mound, and Brown regrouped by getting the strikeout, before retiring the next two hitters to escape the inning unscathed.

“Coach told me I had to toughen up, put on my angry face,” Brown said. “That’s what he told me.”

Georgia capped the scoring with one run in the sixth on Kaden Fowler’s first career home run, before the Bulldogs added two more in the seventh on a wild pitch and a walk.

Pitchers Logan Moody, Brandon Smith, Cain Tatum and Michael Polk closed out the game with four innings of scoreless relief.

“I told the guys before the game that I was really interested to see how they were going to react today,” Stricklin said. “Tuesday games after an off-day are sometimes difficult, so to come back and play the way we did was really encouraging today.”

…Bradley’s first-inning home run was his fourth this season in 31 at bats. Coming into this season, the redshirt junior had three in his first 389 at-bats.

…More on Bradley: With his three-RBI performance, the outfielder has driven in three or more runs three times this year. It was also Bradley’s fifth multi-hit game this season.

…Shepherd now has 21 career home runs.

…Tuesday’s win marked the second straight year the Bulldogs have started the season 8-1.

…Georgia has now scored double-digit runs against Kennesaw State in five straight games.

The Bulldogs return home Friday with the first of three against Georgia Tech. Game 1 will be played at Foley Field (5 p.m.), followed by Saturday’s contest at Georgia Tech (2 p.m.), before wrapping up the series at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville on Sunday (2 p.m.)