With a hard-throwing right-handed reliever on the mound for Auburn, Scott Stricklin was all set to pinch-hit lefty-swinging Garrett Spikes for catcher Fernando Gonzalez, with nobody out in the sixth inning Thursday night.

Fortunately, he changed his mind.

Gonzalez lined the first pitch he saw from Mason Barnett over the fence in right for a grand slam, propelling the Bulldogs (27-14, 10-9) to a 4-0 win.

“Garrett Spikes was on my tongue to say go get a bat, because Barnett has a lot of success against right-handed hitters; he’s 95 to 96 with a good breaking ball,” Stricklin said. “He’s tough on righties and lefties have a lot more success. As my dad with call it, outthinking yourself, I almost outthought myself.”

That would be all the runs the Bulldogs would need.

Starter Ryan Webb (4-2) and Ben Harris (second save) combined on a two-hitter, a win that pushed Georgia’s record to 27-14, 10-9 in SEC play. Auburn falls to 17-21 and 3-16.

“It’s one of those games where one swing can change it,” Gonzalez said. “I was happy he didn’t take me out.”

So too, was Webb, who was locked in a scoreless duel with Auburn’s Jack Owen until Gonzalez’s sixth inning heroics.

A leadoff walk to Garrett Blaylock and a single by Connor Tate chased Owen in favor of Barnett, who struck out Riley King before walking Corey Collins to load the bases.

That brought up Gonzalez, who lined the first pitch he saw over the fence in right for his second home run and first career grand slam.

Webb, meanwhile, was spectacular.

The lefty faced the minimum 18 batters thanks to a third-inning double play, before coming out to start the seventh despite throwing just 63 pitches.

Webb did not walk a batter and struck out six.

Harris finished off the game with three innings of one-hit relief with four strikeouts to earn his second save.

Webb smiled that he had no idea he was going to be able to respond with the performance he did.

“For me, it kind of depends right when the game starts. There are times when I’m in the pen, and I’ll tell myself I feel really good— and then I go out and give up three home runs,” Webb said. “But I felt really good out there tonight. My changeup was really, really good, and I felt my fastball command was the best it’s been for the past month. I felt, really, really good tonight.”

Cole Tate led Georgia’s seven-hit attack by going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles.

Boxscore

Webb was pulled from the game after six innings after his back tightened up, Stricklin said.

Fortunately, the injury doesn't appear serious.

“His back tightened up a little bit; just a little back spasm,” Stricklin said. “It started in the fourth and just felt a little uncomfortable. He could have gone back out there, but we just made the decision get him out—we’ve got an extra day. Next week, we go back to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So we just made the decision to get him out of there.”

Stricklin said his senior lefty did not put up a fuss.

“He didn’t argue. He’s getting treatment, nothing we’re really concerned about. Just lower back spasms,” Stricklin said. “We just didn’t want him to all-of-a-sudden start throwing away from pain and changing the arm slot. We just got him out of there while he was still in good shape.”

Second baseman Josh McAllister (hamstring) is on the roster for this weekend’s series, although it’s unclear if he will play.

“He’s better. He was itching to be on the roster, and he talked me into it for the weekend. We’ll see,” Stricklin said. “He’s going to need to take batting practice. He talked about maybe being able to hit on Saturday, but he’s going to have to take BP first to show he can do it.”

McAllister (.344-7-20) has missed the past three games with the injury.

“I was encouraged. When I told him, he wasn’t on the roster, he gave me that look. He was disappointed and upset,” Stricklin said. “Right before I went out to home plate, I crossed a name off and put him on there, just in case. So, he is on the roster, which is encouraging.”

…Garrett Blaylock switched spots in the lineup with Corey Collins, batting third, with Collins moving to fifth. It was the first time for Blaylock batting third since the season-opener.

…Cole Tate had two doubles Thursday night. He had three coming into the game.

…Georgia and Auburn play again Friday night at 7 p.m. Jonathan Cannon (2-2, 4.25) will start for the Bulldogs.