Injuries and illnesses dictated that Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin would be leaning on some freshmen pitchers to get Georgia through its opening series against Evansville.
He did, and they came through.
In beating Evansville 4-1 Sunday afternoon, three more freshmen pitchers made their respective debuts, giving the Bulldogs a total of eight first-time hurlers used in the four-game opening series.
Despite some issues with control, the results were impressive.
Sunday, Charlie Goldstein, Hank Bearden, Liam Sullivan, and Will Pearson combined with veteran Jack Gowan on a one-hitter. Despite a combined 10 walks, the quartet left Stricklin feeling encouraged for the future.
“That’s what we talked about. If we didn't have five guys out, that's probably five of these young kids who would not have gotten the opportunity,” Stricklin said. “We had eight freshmen that pitched. All those guys got the opportunity because the opportunity was there, and they took advantage of it.”
A right-hander, Bearden actually notched the win despite giving up an unearned run in 2.1 innings of work. He was followed by Sullivan, who struck out two with two walks, then Gowen with a scoreless eighth, before Pearson walked two and struck out two in the ninth to pick up his first career save.
“Not all of them were perfect, and I actually told Hank Bearden that. I told him I really didn’t think he pitched that well, and he kind of looked at me funny, but I told him he got the job done,” Stricklin said. “To me, that was the encouraging thing. (Bearden) is going to be really good for us. He just looked a little bit off, but that’s kind of what you expect from a freshman taking the mound for the first time at the University of Georgia. It’s pretty nerve-wracking, but they all fought through it; they all did their jobs.”
All total, the Bulldogs’ eight freshmen pitchers combined for 20.2 innings in the weekend series, allowing just six runs on six hits. While the 15 walks were obviously a bit much, the fact the youngsters were able to limit the damage left a big impression on teammates like right-fielder Connor Tate.
“We had a lot of confidence coming into the games,” said Tate. “They’re really confident in themselves. Even if they walked someone, they knew they had the defense to back them up.”
Fortunately, the group won't have to carry the load much longer.
Lefty Ryan Webb is expected back next weekend after his recent battle with Covid, and Stricklin hopes projected first-round pick Jonathan Cannon will be ready in two weeks. Two more veterans, Logan Moody and Michael Polk, are also expected back soon.
Still, for freshmen like Phillips, whose two appearances have resulted in his first career win and save, there will be more opportunities to come.
“I’ve always been told I’m a very confident person,” Pearson said. “I just feel I can go out there and compete with anybody in the box.”
It was a tough day for the hitters, as Georgia managed just seven hits on the day, getting an RBI single from Tate, along with a pair of sacrifice flies from Corey Collins and Ben Anderson, the latter of which came in the eighth to account for the final score.
There were some hard-hit balls. A deep drive to right center by Chaney Rogers was knocked down by the wind, as were a pair of rockets by Riley King and Anderson’s eighth-inning sacrifice fly.
“I thought we had the opportunity to score a bunch of runs. The wind cut down a lot. Chaney Rogers hit that one ball harder today than he did yesterday,” Stricklin said. “He couldn’t believe it when he came in the dugout. Ben Anderson hit a ball; Riley King hit two balls that I thought were home runs. I thought we swung the bats better than what the scoreboard showed, but that’s the kind of day it was.”
NEXT UP: Georgia (3-1) returns to action Wednesday at Georgia State before returning home next Friday for four games with Gardner-Webb. Stricklin said Ben Harris is a candidate to start Wednesday’s game against the Panthers.
