No. 4 Georgia baseball defeated East Tennessee State 8-6 on Tuesday to extend its winning streak to 16 games, the second-longest in program history. The Bulldogs improved to 19-1, keeping pace with the 1908 Southern Championship team that set the record at 20 consecutive wins.
Tre Phelps led Georgia’s offense, finishing with three RBIs. He put the Bulldogs on the board early with a two-run single in the first inning and added another RBI on a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
“Yeah, I’m just controlling what I control,” Phelps said. “I mean, at the end of the day, I can focus on being Tre Phelps, having good swings and putting good swings on the ball, not my outcomes and winning my own battles.”
Nolan McCarthy provided insurance runs in the eighth with a two-run home run, helping Georgia maintain its lead. He finished 3 for 3 with one hit and two RBIs.
Phelps and Robbie Burnett have now reached base in all 20 games this season.
Georgia used nine different pitchers in the game, with JT Quinn recording his third straight scoreless start.
Zach Harris earned his first win of the season, allowing one hit with one strikeout in an inning of work.
The pitching staff combined for a season-low two walks.
“I thought we threw the ball well as a whole today,” head coach Wes Johnson said. “To be able to throw nine guys a few days before conference play, that was awesome. Our pitching will be completely reset by Friday.”
ETSU scored its first run in the fifth on a solo home run by Tristan Curless and added another in the sixth on a homer from Cooper Torres. A single and a wild pitch in the seventh tied the game at 3-3 before Georgia pulled ahead.
The Buccaneers added three runs in the ninth but fell short as the Bulldogs closed out the win.
Johnson acknowledged ETSU’s competitiveness.
“We knew we were gonna get their best shot,” he said. “I just told their head coach after the game, they’re gonna give somebody a fit in the region. They’re gonna win their league, they’re gonna give somebody a fit.”
Georgia will look to continue its winning streak as it hosts No. 23 Kentucky (12-2) for a three-game series starting at 6 p.m. ET Friday.
