ATHENS - The University of Georgia baseball team claimed the first two games of a four-game bout against the Princeton Tigers, 12-5 and 9-0, on Saturday at Foley Field.

Game one of the series began Friday night before being suspended to Saturday due to a rain delay with the Bulldogs holding a 7-2 advantage. After winning the first contest, Georgia carried a no-hitter to the eighth inning before finishing with a shutout on three hits.

"I thought we played well all around today," Georgia's Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin said. "We had some big hits, some really good at bats all the way through the lineup, played really good defense...we did make an error there late, but bottom-line we played great defense and pitched a great game, and came up with some big hits."

Sunday's action will begin at 11 a.m. and the first game will be a seven-inning contest. If this game goes extra innings, then the final game of the series will be seven innings. If not, the final game of the series will be a nine-inning contest. 

Game One: Georgia 12-5

Georgia's (4-1) three home runs during Friday's action gave the Bulldogs a 7-2 lead heading into Saturday where it extended its lead following a stellar start from junior Jaden Woods.

Woods' (1-0) career night on Friday featured 11 strikeouts over 4.2 inning. Senior Pace Mercer resumed action on the mound and threw 1.1 innings allowing one run off one hit and one strikeout. Princeton's (0-2) Jackson Emus (0-1) was credited the loss after pitched 4.0 innings and allowed five runs on six hits.

Princeton grabbed the first run of Saturday's play in the seventh with a solo home run to center field as the Tigers trailed 7-4 leading into the bottom of the frame.

Five walks for five runs in the seventh boosted Georgia's lead. Graduate Mason LaPlante reached on a fielding error by third base and was advanced to second by a sacrifice bunt from graduate Ben Anderson. A double from graduate Connor Tate put two runners on. Five walks scored LaPlante, Tate, junior Parks Harber and redshirt freshman Charlie Condon. A sacrifice fly out from junior Sebastian Murillo scored sophomore Cole Wagner to give the Bulldogs a 12-3 advantage. Princeton scored two home runs in the top of the ninth, again on solo home runs, for the final. The Tigers got home runs from Matt Scannell, Nadir Lewis and Noah Granet plus two from Kyle Vinci.

Game Two: Georgia 9-0

The Bulldogs blanked the Tigers in the second game of the day which featured a dominating performance by junior Liam Sullivan, providing seven hitless frames.

Sullivan (1-0) tied his career high with 11 strikeouts and surrendered just two walks in a combined three-hit shutout by the Bulldogs. Princeton's Tom Chmielewski (0-1) took the loss after tossing 4.0 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks.

The Bulldogs (4-1) took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Condon was walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Graduate Will David sent a double to right center field to score Condon. Murillo followed up with a double to center field that split the gap as David reached home.

Tate and Harber were walked as Condon singled to short to load the bases for Wagner in the bottom of the third. Wagner reached first on a fielder's choice to score Tate as Georgia took a 3-0 advantage. Georgia added a fourth run to its lead in the fourth. A single from Tate to left field scored Collins. The Tigers remained scoreless heading into the fifth. With Tate on second after a leadoff singling and advancing to second on an error, Harber launched a two-run home run to center field. With two runners on, Collins was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Anderson. The graduate knocked a two-run single to right center to score David and Condon as the Bulldogs extended their lead to eight, 8-0. A final run from Georgia closed the scoring for game two. A single from junior Garrett Spikes, who advanced to second on a wild pitch, got the Bulldogs on base. With bases loaded, freshman Josh Tate reached on a fielder's choice as Spikes crossed home plate, 9-0.

Bulldog Quotes

Liam Sullivan, LHP, Jr.

On The No-Hit Bid: "From the sixth inning on, I was thinking about it. I was trying not think about it, but it just kept popping into my head."

On the Environment in the Dugout During The No-Hit Bid: "Honestly, it felt pretty normal I was just doing my own thing. Usually, we get ignored anyway."

On Any Pressure Following Woods' Start: "I told Jaden [Woods] before the game, 'you went four innings with 11 strikeouts, I'm going to go five innings with twelve strikeouts.'"

Ike Cousins Head Coach Scott Stricklin

On Woods and Sullivans' Performance: "It's been a long week for those two guys. Opening weekend didn't go the way those guys wanted it to go. There's a lot of expectations on them. When they're that talented and pitching one and two at the University of Georgia and didn't have a great start, a lot of credit goes to them and their ability to bounce back."