Georgia baseball hits four grand slams and takes four straight over Northern Colorado |  Georgia Sports

Georgia baseball hits four grand slams and takes four straight over Northern Colorado | Georgia Sports

Northern Colorado traveled over 1,486 miles to face Georgia baseball in four games and just looked out of their element.

The Bulldogs beat the Bears in all four games from Friday through Sunday – including a matchup on Saturday – and beat them in three.

As early as the first game, the Bulldogs were up 3-1 over the Bears when graduate transfer Dylan Goldstein stepped up. Goldstein pulled off the third Grand Slam title in three straight matches for Georgia.

“Dylan got it with a really good swing,” head coach Wes Johnson said. “I’m trying to think of the last time I watched a Grand Slam three matches in a row. Coach [Will] Coggin is working hard and the forwards are working on some small adjustments.”

A three-run home run by Charlie Condon and a second homer by Goldstein extended the Bulldogs’ lead even further. Both hit all four home runs in the game and were responsible for a total of nine runs, with the other two coming on sacrifice flies. Georgia beat Northern Colorado 11-1.

“We have great players all over the roster,” Goldstein said. “We have guys that are ready to go out there every day.”

Charlie Goldstein started on the mound, went five innings and had four hits. While four walks and one earned run isn’t flawless, Goldstein kept the Bears quiet along with relievers Chandler Marsh and freshman Wyatt Land — the latter of whom added two hits.

The Bulldogs held a one-run lead until the offense got going. Henry Hunter drove in a three-run home run to left field, and shortly after Slate Alford’s RBI groundout came senior Corey Collins.

Collins, who has been with the Bulldogs since his freshman year in 2020, extended Georgia Baseball’s grand slam streak to four games with his first home run of the season. After an eight-run inning, the Bulldogs followed it up with a nine-run inning in the fifth, where Collins hit his second home run of the game and the season.

“I was just taking them [walks] all season,” Collins said. “I just take what they give me. I was happy to get a few pitches in the first game. I’m trying a new approach and sticking with it.”

Alford, who started a grand slam streak against Georgia Southern just five days before Saturday’s matchup, decided to hit one final grand slam for the Bulldogs. After a two-run home run in the top of the inning, he closed the inning with a fifth consecutive grand slam in just four games. For good measure, Condon hit one of his own before Collins. Those were just a few of Georgia’s season-high 19 runs scored.

Leighton Finley started on the mound for the Bulldogs and, despite allowing four hits, allowed just one hit along with Coleman Willis and freshman Ethan Sutton to get the Bulldogs out of the game after seven.

Although the Bulldogs couldn’t control Northern Colorado in game two of the doubleheader – and game three of the series – they still managed to win 14-6.

The Bulldogs scored 11 of their 14 runs in the first two innings alone, with only Sebastian Murillo hitting one over the fence. The Bulldogs added three more runs in the eighth, but again none flew over the fence.

The Bulldogs used seven different pitchers, up from three in previous games, and allowed the most runs in any series. Daniel Padisak made his first start all season, allowed two runs and had two hits. DJ Radtke led the group in hits and no runs.

“If you can get a matchup on your schedule before you start conference play, you can see how your guys respond,” Johnson said. “You can see what their level of focus is because during my years in the SEC, we had to play a doubleheader in conference play at least one weekend.”

Georgia closed out the streak with its second win, 11-1 over Northern Colorado. The game was tied after one, but was almost out of reach until the second inning. Fernando Gonzalez, whose Grand Slam streak was snapped before the match, still hit one. Three runs crossed the plate before Gonzalez brought home four more. The Bulldogs hit a whopping six grand slams in six games.

“It was crazy,” Gonzalez said. “People always say that hitting is contagious, and I think that’s one of the biggest things. When you get fired up and you know you can do it, you get up there and you believe. Coach Johnson preaches this a lot. Get up there and believe it. “

Jarvis Evans pitched the most innings and had three strikeouts and allowed one run. The rotation, which featured five different players, was strong and totaled eight strikeouts along with Evans’ run allowed.

The Bulldogs improve their record to 16-1, while the Bears fall to 0-16. Georgia then faces non-conference Iowa before hitting the road for its first SEC opponent: Kentucky on Friday, March 15.

“Our guys know it’s good for momentum as far as our start goes, but there are a lot of teams that have really good non-conference records and don’t make the tournament,” Johnson said. “We all know you have to play well from Friday, and you have to play well when it really counts. First we’ll prepare for Iowa, a good team coming up on Tuesday, and then we’ll focus on the start of SEC play when we go to Kentucky.”

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