UMass Lowell at Georgia
WHEN: Sunday
TIME: DH 11 a.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 4-0; UMass Lowell 0-5
STARTING PITCHERS: Game 1: Will Proctor (1-0, 3.60) vs Henry Funaro (0-1, 21.60); Game 2: Tony Locey (1-0, 1.50) vs TBA
It’s hard to imagine getting off to a better start than Emerson Hancock has managed, two weeks into Georgia’s 2019 baseball campaign.
For the second time in as many outings, Hancock dominated Saturday as he allowed just one hit with a career-high 10 strikeouts to pitch the Bulldogs past UMass Lowell, 6-2.
A Foley Field crowd of 1,917 watched Hancock's latest masterpiece, which came despite the game being played in cold, damp conditions that saw temperatures hover in the upper-40s.
"It's just about your mindset," Hancock said. "It's all about how you attack it. It really doesn't change how you're going to pitch. You just try to stay warm and get a dry ball whenever you can."
Hancock went 6.1 innings for the Bulldogs, throwing 83 pitches before being taken out of the game with one out in the top of the seventh. But before he left, the sophomore from Cairo once again showed why he’s considered one of the better young starters in the SEC, giving up just one hit with two walks, to go with his 10 strikeouts.
“It was kind of odd. Last week he didn’t have the strikeouts, but today he had swing-and-miss stuff, and was really kind of overpowering,” Georgia skipper Scott Stricklin said. “He’s the guy you want out there on a Friday night, somebody who can get you deep in a game. If it’s later in the year, he stays out there another inning. But in these conditions and the time of year, we got him out of there with 83 pitches and felt really good about it.”
In his two games, Hancock has allowed just three hits and three walks with 12 strikeouts in 12.2 innings.
“I wouldn’t say it’s what I expected. I just try to come out here and execute pitches,” he said. “But I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’ve got a lot of things to work on.”
Hancock was certainly on point against UMass Lowell. Of the first nine batters he faced, eight struck out, as Hancock carried a perfect game into the fifth before issuing a one-out walk to Vinnie Martin.
Hancock lost the no-hitter one batter later, when Austin Young lined a clean single to left before a second walk loaded the bases for nine-hole hitter Joey Castellanos, who worked the count to 3-2 before hitting a hard grounder that appeared to be headed to right-center field. However, LJ Talley had other ideas, as he was able to smother the ball before jumping to his feet to throw out Castellanos by a step, ending the threat.
“I thought that was the play of the game,” Hancock said. “It was a heck of a play going to his left, spinning, and making a play at first. It’s really nice to have him behind you.”
Becoming a better defensive player has been a goal for Talley, who stayed home over the summer to work with strength coach Ryan Gearheart on his condition, which has allowed him to get balls he might ordinarily not have before.
“I don’t know what happened on that play. When I looked up, I was going to throw it home, and he was halfway down the baseline,” Talley said. “I slid like 20 feet in the hole, but he was halfway down the baseline. So I was able to throw him out.”
Color teammate Cam Shephard impressed.
“I definitely thought it was a base hit with the ground being wet,” Shephard said. “He double-clutched it, looked home really quick, then then threw to first. And when he did, I was like ‘Holy Cow, that’s awesome.’”
After retiring Cam Climo to star the seventh, Stricklin turned it over to junior lefty Justin Glover, who retired both hitters he faced, followed by Zac Kristofak who gave up a two-run double to Oscar Marchena to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 3-2 before the Bulldogs scored three times in the eighth to push the margin to four.
Aaron Schunk then finished off the River Hawks with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Offensively, Georgia’s bats scuffled for much of the game. although the Bulldogs (4-0) got off to a quick start in the first when Mason Meadows drove in a pair for a 2-0 lead.
An RBI single by Shephard made it 3-0 in the second, but that would be the final run for Georgia until the Bulldogs scored three times in the bottom of the eighth. Once again it was Shephard, who capped his second three-hit game of the year with a two-run single followed by Riley King (2-for-4) who drove in the Bulldog shortstop for Georgia’s sixth and final run.
Georgia outhit UMass Lowell (0-5) 10-4.
