By: Blaire Mars
The Georgia Bulldogs overpowered the Kennesaw State Owls 9-2 on Tuesday night at Foley Field, combining timely hitting with shutdown bullpen work to extend their midweek dominance. The Owls jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Kennsaw’s Nate Anderson opened the game with a laser down the right field line for a double and moved to third on Chris Cole’s perfectly placed bunt single. Coach Ryan Coe called for a double steal, and Anderson took advantage of a distracted infield to race home and score the game’s first run.
Georgia tied the game in the bottom half of the first, and after a two-out double down the left field line, the Bulldogs pushed across two more runs in the second inning to take the lead. Senior Slate Alford delivered a two-run double, extending his on-base streak to 30 straight games.
The Bulldogs rolled from there. A run in the bottom of the third made it 4-1, and top-ranked Georgia replicated that production in the fifth and sixth innings, scoring one run in each frame to build a commanding 6-1 lead. In the sixth, senior Robbie Burnett added an exclamation point, blasting a solo home run to right field for his South Eastern Conference-leading 19th homer of the year. He now sits tied for second nationally in home runs, while Georgia leads all NCAA programs with 113.
Kennesaw State briefly interrupted Georgia’s momentum in the seventh. Shaamar McDuffie reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced when Anderson drew a walk. Cole followed with a well-placed single into shallow left-center, bringing McDuffie home to make it 6-2 and halting a stretch of six unanswered Bulldog runs.
Georgia finished strong with a three-run bottom of the seventh, extending the lead to 9–2 and effectively sealing the game. The Owls could not mount a comeback attempt against the Bulldogs, showcasing their dominance.
Kolby Branch recorded an RBI single in the first to extend his hitting streak to five games. Alford finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs, and Branch, Tre Phelps, and Paul Toetz each added multi-hit efforts as Georgia out-hit Kennesaw State 10-4.
The Bulldog pitching staff turned in a complete group effort. Nine pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts while allowing just four hits and no earned runs after the seventh inning. Jordan Stephens (4-0) picked up the win with a clean second inning as part of the nine-inning performance.
Georgia just wrapped up an 11-game stretch against ranked opponents, going 5-6 during that run, which included a season-long five-game losing streak. The Bulldogs rebounded by taking a weekend series over No. 14 Oklahoma, capped by four home runs in Saturday’s 6-3 rubber match. Georgia leads the nation with 113 home runs and ranks seventh in slugging percentage at .571. After Tuesday, Georgia has three SEC series remaining: they’ll head to Missouri and then to No. 18 Alabama before finishing the regular season at Foley Field against Texas A&M. These upcoming games will be crucial for the Bulldogs as they head into the SEC tournament, and potentially to host a regional.
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