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Published Jun 2, 2018
Soup's on! Dawgs open up a can on Campbell
Anthony Dasher  •  UGASports
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Following Friday night’s rainout, the last thing Georgia wanted to have happen against Campbell in Saturday’s rescheduled opening game of the Athens Regional endure any unnecessary drama.

No worries.

Thanks to a seven-run fourth, there was none as the Bulldogs advanced to the Saturday's winner’s bracket game against Troy with an 18-5 win over the Fighting Camels of the Big South Conference.

“I feel like we’ve put a lot of work in the last couple of weeks,” first baseman Adam Sasser said. “We really put a lot of emphasis on getting ready for this regional. Not playing yesterday was kind of a bummer, but we put our work in and were ready to go today.”

For those who enjoy watching home runs, then this was the game for you.

The Bulldogs (38-19) set a season-high with four home runs, one each by Keegan McGovern (16), Cam Shepherd (5), Sasser (10) and Tucker Bradley (3).

Bradley’s shot – a grand slam to right center field – put Georgia in front 6-3 in the fourth after falling behind early 3-2.

“I thought we had a lot of good at-bats, and today was a good day to hit,” Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin said. “The wind was blowing out a little bit. These guys will admit it’s a good day to hit, but I think this just shows the strength of our lineup, four home runs from four different guys. It’s not just one guy, it’s one through nine. This is a fun group to coach.

Tony Locey (7-2) got credit for the victory after allowing just two runs in four innings after starter Chase Adkins was never able to get in sync as he struggled with his location throughout the three innings he was in the game.

Campbell (35-25) reached the Bulldog senior for single runs in the first, second and third innings, the latter coming on a solo home run by Christian Jones, his 19th this year.

Jones’ blast also put Campbell back in front by one after Cam Shepherd had tied the score for the Bulldogs with a two-run homer to right.

“This was a tough day to pitch,” Stricklin said. “The wind was blowing out. Every single ball hit in the air you thought might have a chance to get out of here. Chase didn’t have his best stuff today and we just thought it was the best move to go to Tony.”

But just like that, Georgia’s bats came alive against Fighting Camel starter Wes Noble (7-7)

After back-to-back walks to LJ Talley and Mason Meadows, C.J. Smith beat out a bunt to load the bases with nobody out.

But not for long.

Bradley jumped on the first pitch he saw from Wes Noble and launched it for a grand slam way beyond the right center field fence.

“Honestly, I was just trying to see something up,” Bradley said. “I was thinking a curveball was coming and just reacted, let my hands work and try to drive something in the gap. When I hit it, I knew it had a chance. Just coming around third and seeing the guys getting all jacked up, it’s just an awesome feeling.”

The Bulldogs weren’t done, adding three mores runs to go up 9-3. Sasser’s two-run bomb in the fifth and McGovern’s solo shot in the seventh accounted for the final score.

Sasser led the Bulldogs’ 14-hit attack by going 3-for-4 with four other Bulldogs – Bradley, Curry, Meadows and Smith – each collecting two each.

All nine Georgia starters scored at least one run.

Blake Cairnes followed Locey with two innings of scoreless relief to close out the game.

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Hitting heroes

That would be Bradley, sidelined for the past three weeks due to a hamstring injury.

He certainly seemed to feel fine on Saturday.

After singling leading off Georgia’s first, Bradley jumped on the first pitch he saw in fourth, lining a grand slam over the right center field fence.

The home run was just the third of the sophomore’s career.

Bradley wasn’t the only Bulldog to go deep.

Shepherd hit an opposite field two-run homer to tie the game at 2 and later Sasser drilled a two-run shot that bounced off the camera tower in left center field to make the score 12-3.

McGovern capped the home run barrage with a solo blast in the seventh and just missed a grand slam in the eighth with a fly ball to the fence in left.

Record breaker

Bradley’s grand slam was Georgia’s seventh this year, a school record.

He joins Sasser, Shepherd, Meadows, Talley and Curry, who has two. Georgia's four home runs was also a single-game high for the Bulldogs this year.

Next up

The victory sends Georgia into today’s winner’s bracket game against Troy, which advanced on Friday with a 6-0 win over Duke. ... Troy (42-19), which is making its seventh all-time appearance in the NCAAs, have never met the Bulldogs in baseball before. … With the loss, Campbell dropped into the loser’s bracket game against Duke. … Kevin Smith (8-1, 3.17 starts Saturday’s winner’s bracket game for the Bulldogs.

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