Darryn Pasqua could not have been placed in a more difficult situation when he entered Tuesday night’s game at Clemson, with one out in the eighth inning.
The Tigers had the bases loaded and only one out. Undeterred, Pasqua struck out his first batter before ending the inning on a groundout to first, enabling the Bulldogs (17-7) to hold on for a 2-0 win.
It marked the first time Georgia has shut out the Tigers in Clemson since 1936.
Pasqua, the eighth Bulldogs pitcher on what was “staff day,” finished off the game by setting the Tigers down in order in the ninth to pick up the save.
“I’m really proud of the guys, especially the pitchers, to go out there and throw a shutout,” acting head coach Scott Daeley said in his post-game interview on 960-AM. “We gave them some chances, but DP (Pasqua) and some other guys, Michael Polk, came in and threw huge pitches when it really mattered.”
Pasqua retired all five batters he faced, including three strikeouts.
“He really trusts his stuff. He’s got a great breaking ball, he attacks guys, threw a lot of strikes tonight,” Daeley said. “We couldn’t put him in a tougher situation than he was in. But he finds a way to get out of it with the strikeout, then the ground ball, then next thing you know, we win the game.”
Starting pitcher Charlie Goldstein, who pitched the first inning, was credited with the win, his first as a Bulldogs.
Georgia also received scoreless efforts from Will Pearson, Jack Gowen, Collin Caldwell, Nolan Crisp, Polk, and Ben Harris.
The eight Bulldogs combined to hold the Tigers (12-10) to 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
“Our pitchers did a great job, especially when it mattered the most,” Daeley said. “We had a couple of balls that hit the backstop, and guys moved up and put us in tough spots. But we came through in those big spots.”
Freshman Parks Harber accounted for both of Georgia’s RBI, driving home Riley King on a sacrifice fly in the second and Corey Collins on a fielder’s choice in the fourth.
“I thought we swung the bats better than six hits,” Daeley said. “We just didn't execute, and we hit some balls right at people.”
The win marked the second straight for Georgia, which dropped two last weekend at Texas A&M before rallying to a victory Sunday, having trailed 4-1 in the seventh.
Georgia hosts South Carolina for three games, starting on Friday afternoon.
“It’s all the players,” Daeley said. “That was a tough loss, especially on the road, and (Sunday) we were down 4-1, but credit the players to come back and get this thing going back the right way.”
