A new day means a new Bulldog is headlining Georgia’s top-ranked offense. And on Tuesday, it was Daniel Jackson’s turn.
Coming off of a series sweep of No. 13 Florida last weekend, No. 3 Georgia welcomed West Georgia to Foley Field before a crowd of 2,215 people for a mid-week showdown. The Bulldogs built off of their weekend momentum, rolling right past the Wolves 13-6.
Jackson might not see the batter’s box in every game, but when he does, he capitalizes. After not getting an at-bat against the Gators, Jackson finished the night 3 for 5, with two home runs, a single and a season-high four RBIs.
“Even when I’m not playing, I’m still trying to get better every day so that when the time comes, I can help my team,” Jackson said.
Even with Georgia’s two leading hitters, Ryland Zaborowski and Robbie Burnett, both out with an illness, Georgia still picked up right where they left off from last weekend, blasting to a 9-0 lead over West Georgia within the first three innings. However, the Bulldogs’ bats quieted down in the middle three innings, while West Georgia found its momentum, narrowing the gap to 9-6.
The Bulldogs came back alive in the seventh, when Jackson went yard – again – batting in two more runs and bringing the energy back up.
But Jackson wasn’t the only hot bat against West Georgia. Nolan McCarthy finished the night 2 for 3 with one home run, one double and a career-high five RBIs, all of which came within the first three innings.
“Striking first offensively is always big,” McCarthy said. “It’s just great when I come up with people on base. RBIs aren’t a doing of me, it’s my teammates getting on base.”
McCarthy recorded his fifth home run of the season in the first inning, with a deep shot to left field, bringing in the first three runs of the game. The Bulldogs now have eight players with five or more home runs this season.
“I’m not gonna hit as many homers as Zabo or even Dan, but I mean everyone in this lineup has got juice and can put it out,” McCarthy said. “So, it doesn’t really matter who’s at the plate because those trees aren’t safe.”
Devin Obee also added a homer to the mix in the eighth inning, bringing the Bulldogs to four home runs on the day and advancing their season total to 74 – the most in the NCAA.
Last season, Georgia was all too familiar with the name Charlie Condon, but this year is different. The depth of Georgia’s offense is unlike anything the team had last year.
“We’ve talked a lot about how are [we] going to replace Charlie Condon and Corey Collins,” head coach Wes Johnson said. “And our whole mindset was we’ve got to get deeper. We won’t have a guy with 35 home runs, but maybe we can stretch that number one through nine. You’re starting to see that balance coming.”
Georgia looks ahead to this weekend, when they welcome No. 11 Auburn to Foley Field for a three-game series beginning at 6 p.m. ET Friday.
