Slow down and take a deep breath.
Those were the words Parks Harber quietly told himself just before blasting a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th to give Georgia a 3-2 win over Kennesaw State.
“I think the at-bat before that, it was three fastballs, and I struck out. I was really sped up. I caught myself guessing a little bit,” said Harber, who was 0-for-4 before the home run. “The biggest thing that slowed me down though, was jus the pitching staff. After the first inning they really kind of shut them down. That was a deep breath in itself knowing they had our back, and that we were going to come through.”
It was a frustrating game until the ninth. That’s when Riley King tied the game for Georgia (15-5) with a double, before reliever Nolan Crisp retired the Owls in order bring up the bottom of the 10th. That set the stage for Harber’s one-out game winner.
“You don’t find too many freshman who have that feel for hitting, who have that kind of power, can control the bat and handle a bunch of different pitches,” assistant coach Scott Daeley said. “For me, it was huge to see him not have his best day to that point, to be struggling and still be able to get to that point and put a good swing on it.”
Eight different pitchers saw action for the Bulldogs in what was a “staff night” at Foley Field.
Kennesaw State (11-8) struck for two runs in the first inning off Charlie Goldstein. But after that, seven pitchers shut the Owls down on four hits.
Luke Wagner, Hank Bearden, Liam Sullivan, Michael Polk, Will Pearson, Ben Harris, and Crisp blanked Kennesaw State to give the offense a chance.
Crisp went the final two innings, striking out a batter to continue his recent run of good work, after a slow start to the season.
“All those guys did well, and Nolan, he’s really kind of turned the corner these last couple of weeks,” Daeley said. “He’s out there pitching with confidence, and his stuff looks good. We feel really good with him on the mound. He throws strikes, he attacks. There’s a lot to like with Nolan.”
Georgia returns to action Friday with a three-game series at Texas A&M.
