Sunday, March 11, 2007

ATHENS, Ga. – Gardner-Webb scored two runs in the second inning and two more in the fifth, and rode a red-hot bullpen to beat Georgia, 4-1, Sunday and take its second win in as many days at Foley Field.

Gardner-Webb (9-10) picked up four of its eight hits in the top of the second, as Joey Testa drove in Josh Drewery with a base knock, and Shea Harris put GWU up 2-0 with a single to left – driving in Daniel Cooke.

Georgia responded with its lone run in the bottom of the second, getting an RBI double from Gordon Beckham – but that would be it for the Southeastern Conference ‘Dogs.

Junior southpaw Wes Cogdill (1-0) came on in the fourth and pitched 5.0 scoreless frames, scattering three hits, and Nate MacDonald pitched a perfect ninth to pick up his second save of the season.

Gardner-Webb put the game out of reach in the fifth, getting an RBI hit from Matt Rizzuto for a 3-1 lead and going up 4-1 when Jamaal Kinard sped around to score from second base on an error one play later.

That would be all the offense GWU needed against a team ranked No. 19 in one preseason national poll and considered an SEC East contender. In the series' final two games – including Saturday’s 17-inning marathon – the Gardner-Webb pitching staff held Georgia to just two earned runs in a span of 26.0 innings.

Rizzuto and Cooke each went 2-for-4 to pace Gardner-Webb’s offense Sunday. The game marked the first time in 19 games this season that Coach Rusty Stroupe’s Bulldogs had not stolen at least one base. GWU has swiped 55 bags so far this, just 14 shy of the school record of 69, set last season.

“We’ve fought through some hard times early this season, but our guys have never given up, and this weekend’s wins are a great sign of our perseverance,” Stroupe said Sunday. “It’s good to see our pitching staff perform so well against an SEC opponent for two days in a row.”

Georgia got six hits (five singles), with no player collecting more than one hit.

Justin Earls (1-1) took the loss for Georgia, working 5.0 innings, allowing eight hits and two earned runs (two strikeouts).

The series victory is the second for Gardner-Webb over Georgia since 2003, and gives the Boiling Springs Nine an all-time series edge of 5-4 over their SEC counterparts.

Gardner-Webb will turn its attention to a five-game homestand, which begins with a pair of mid-week games against Columbia (N.Y.) University on Wednesday, March 14, at 3 pm ET on Varsity Field. GWU and Columbia will tangle again on Thursday at 3 pm ET, then ETSU rolls into Boiling Springs to begin an Atlantic Sun series on Friday afternoon.

Courtesy of GWU Athletics