WILMINGTON, N.C. – It only made sense that with 23 newcomers, some different faces had a good chance of contributing for Georgia in Friday’s season-opener against Quinnipiac.

That’s exactly what happened.

Eight of Georgia’s nine runs and seven of the Bulldogs’ RBI came courtesy of players making their Georgia debut, a game that saw the Bulldogs coast to a 9-1 win.

“We've been battling each other all fall and spring so it was just fun to all get on the same team and just kind of go after somebody else,” said UNC-Asheville transfer Robbie Burnett, who went 1-for-1 with and an RBI, three runs scored and tied a school record with four stolen bases.

Burnett wasn’t the only newcomer making an early impact. The list was a long one.

Along with Burnett, the Bulldogs received three RBI on a bases-clearing double by Ryland Zaborowski, and a three RBI day by Duke transfer Devin Obee, including an opposite-field home run.

An RBI double by Henry Hunter and a solo home run by Duke transfer Devin Obee.

Georgia’s other runs scored on a wild pitch with Nolan McCarthy racing home from third and a bases-loaded walk to Obee bringing home Christian Adams.

“Yeah, I mean, gosh, you start with Robbie Burnett. He's a dynamic player with four stolen bases and a double. You think about Devin Obee hitting that ball out backside on a day where, as you could tell, we hit some balls really, really hard,” skipper Wes Johnson said. “All those young men did a really good job.”

Zach Harris was the surprise Game 1 starter after Kolten Smith woke up with a tight back.

He had his ups and downs.

Harris – one of a bevy of potential starters for the Bulldogs – allowed just one run in four innings but he had to work to do it.

In four innings, Harris allowed three hits with three walks. The Georgia Southern transfer might have gone longer, but a quartet of 3-2 counts helped push his pitch count to 71 before being replaced by redshirt freshman Paul Farley.

Farley was impressive.

After the first two hitters reached base in the fifth, the Kennesaw native settled down following a quick visit by Johnson, retiring nine straight before a one-out walk in the seventh.

“He talked about just having confidence in myself, knowing my stuff, knowing what we've worked on all season,” Farley said. “After that, I was like, you're right. I settled down and felt really good after that.”

Farley followed up with a scoreless eighth, before setting retiring Quinnipiac in the ninth for his first career win. He allowed just one hit, with three walks and two strikeouts, retiring 15 of the 17 batters he faced.

“This is a guy you're going to see throw strikes. He doesn't get too sped up, controls the running game, did a good job fielding his position today, and threw strikes. So, it was not shocking to me that he came out and did that, but that was big for us,” Johnson said. “But you’ve also got to talk about Zach Harris too. I mean, I found out this morning at 8:10, he was starting, and that's not easy. Zach's a guy who typically likes to prepare, but I also knew he would be up for the challenge.”

Boxscore

…Kolten Smith was scheduled to start Friday’s opener but was pulled after waking up with tightness in his back.

“The guy's got some back spasms,” Johnson said. “We’ll see how it works out. Maybe we get to see him by the end of the week. If not, we'll see. But it’s nothing major. It's just back spasms. There's a lot of people who've had them.”

…With rain expected in the area Saturday afternoon, both of Georgia’s games have been moved up.

The Bulldogs will take on Quinnipiac at 10 a.m. as opposed to noon, with a contest to follow against host UNCW.

…With four steals, UNC-Asheville transfer Robbie Burnett tied a Georgia school record with four stolen bases. All of Burnett’s steals came after walks in his first three at-bats, including second and third in the bottom of the fifth. Not only did Burnett’s four steals tie a school record, but it would have tied for most on the team last spring.

“We’ve got some guys that can run, our coaching staff, they study a lot, study pitchers, and they're going to put us in the best situation to steal as many bags as possible,” Burnett said. “It just adds that extra, whatever you want to call it. It adds extra onto our game over just hitting home runs

…Georgia’s 40-man roster is set. Players not included include pitchers Logan Spivey and Luke Wiltrakis, along with infielders TL Saxon and Alexander Sifford. Graduate Dylan Goldstein is listed on the roster, but his waiver to play after playing a year of junior college ball at Chipola still has not been approved, per a UGA athletics official.