University of Georgia Athletics
‘Dynamic’ Bulldogs Rally Past Panthers
April 01, 2026 | Baseball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Hitless through four innings against Georgia State on Tuesday afternoon at Foley Field, the No. 4-ranked Georgia baseball team, which has one of the most potent offenses in the country, didn't stay quiet at the plate much longer in its 14-9 win.
A five-run barrage in the fifth got the Bulldogs rolling — Tre Phelps' line-drive, two-run home run to left field was hit so hard even he had to pause to admire it — and gave them a 5-3 lead. And then, after the Panthers went ahead by three runs in the top of the eighth, Georgia put the game away for good with an eight-run bottom of the inning. Phelps homered again in the eighth, another two-run shot, to end the day 3-for-4 with four RBIs; he was also hit by pitches twice.
It was a marathon of a game, with the teams hitting a combined five home runs, six doubles, 21 hits in all, 18 walks, and a total of 18 pitchers took the mound. Georgia went from up three runs entering the top of the eighth inning to down three going into the bottom of the frame.
"That one was weird," said Georgia's Kolby Branch, who had a pair of hits, scored twice, and drove in three runs. He added that there "was no flinch in the dugout" after the Panthers regained the lead in the eighth.
Georgia State wasn't intimidated by the Bulldogs. The Panthers already had a win over No. 3 Georgia Tech this season, and they took it to Georgia early. While starting pitcher Hunter Atkins held the Bulldogs without a hit through four innings, before running into trouble in the fifth, the Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the second and added two more runs in the top of the fifth for a 3-0 lead before Georgia got its first hit.
But then the hits came.
Brennan Hudson led off the fifth with a double and then scored on Branch's double. Two batters later, Phelps got a changeup and belted it into the trees in left.
"Did you see it?" he said when asked about what it felt like to drill one that hard. "I just had to admire it. I didn't want to run. It felt, it feels amazing. Knowing you put so much work in, and then to go that one result; being able to get that one thing that you're squeezing out of the toothpaste, is amazing."
Phelps credited Ike Cousins Head Coach Wes Johnson with helping him improve his hitting on changeups.
"I was not a good right-on-right changeup hitter coming into this year, and he threw a lot of right-on-right changeups this fall. I mean, it sounds funny, but I was able to adjust to it, and now I see that pitch a little bit more — I see it a little deeper. Now, it's showing this year; I think I've hit four or five homers off of changeups," said Phelps, who now has 12 homers this season.
As a team, Georgia now has 87 home runs — by far the most in the nation. Last Sunday's win over South Carolina was the only game this season in which the Bulldogs haven't gone deep at least once.
The Bulldogs improved to 15-0 this season when they score at least 10 runs, but they don't have to have big blasts to produce wins. Georgia has scored fewer than 10 runs in eight of its last nine wins. Of the Bulldogs' 12 hits Tuesday, seven were either doubles or home runs; Georgia also had nine walks, three hit batters, and one stolen base.
"There are going to be a few games where we don't hit home runs, and we have to put balls on the line and put balls on the ground, and run them out. I think this team is definitely showing a lot more speed, we're definitely stealing a lot more bases, and just being able to show that we're very, very dynamic," said Phelps, who now has 12 home runs this season and has been hit by a pitch 20 times.
Georgia has stolen 28 bases in 32 attempts this season. In 2025, the Bulldogs finished with 67 steals.
"We don't need to go all or nothing sometimes," Branch said. "Sometimes we get away from that, and that's when we have some of our tougher games. We're hitting our singles, taking our walks, taking the doubles — it builds up over time, and that's when big innings come."
The Bulldogs' big inning came in the eighth, after Georgia State hit two three-run homers in the top of the frame to take a 9-6 lead. Phelps led off the bottom of the inning with a hit-by-pitch, then moved to second and third on a wild pitch and a passed ball. Daniel Jackson, who leads Georgia with 16 home runs, brought him home with a single to right field.
After Henry Allen flied out, Jackson stole second and then scored on a double to left field by Rylan Lujo. The next three batters drew walks, the last bringing in the tying run, and then Branch drove in a run on a fielder's choice to put Georgia up 10-9. Ryan Wynn followed that with a pinch-hit double to left, scoring Branch and Hudson, and then Phelps capped off a huge game and a huge inning with a two-run shot to left.
Up next for Georgia is a weekend series at No. 5 Mississippi State.
Staff Writer
Hitless through four innings against Georgia State on Tuesday afternoon at Foley Field, the No. 4-ranked Georgia baseball team, which has one of the most potent offenses in the country, didn't stay quiet at the plate much longer in its 14-9 win.
A five-run barrage in the fifth got the Bulldogs rolling — Tre Phelps' line-drive, two-run home run to left field was hit so hard even he had to pause to admire it — and gave them a 5-3 lead. And then, after the Panthers went ahead by three runs in the top of the eighth, Georgia put the game away for good with an eight-run bottom of the inning. Phelps homered again in the eighth, another two-run shot, to end the day 3-for-4 with four RBIs; he was also hit by pitches twice.
It was a marathon of a game, with the teams hitting a combined five home runs, six doubles, 21 hits in all, 18 walks, and a total of 18 pitchers took the mound. Georgia went from up three runs entering the top of the eighth inning to down three going into the bottom of the frame.
"That one was weird," said Georgia's Kolby Branch, who had a pair of hits, scored twice, and drove in three runs. He added that there "was no flinch in the dugout" after the Panthers regained the lead in the eighth.
Georgia State wasn't intimidated by the Bulldogs. The Panthers already had a win over No. 3 Georgia Tech this season, and they took it to Georgia early. While starting pitcher Hunter Atkins held the Bulldogs without a hit through four innings, before running into trouble in the fifth, the Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the second and added two more runs in the top of the fifth for a 3-0 lead before Georgia got its first hit.
But then the hits came.
Brennan Hudson led off the fifth with a double and then scored on Branch's double. Two batters later, Phelps got a changeup and belted it into the trees in left.
"Did you see it?" he said when asked about what it felt like to drill one that hard. "I just had to admire it. I didn't want to run. It felt, it feels amazing. Knowing you put so much work in, and then to go that one result; being able to get that one thing that you're squeezing out of the toothpaste, is amazing."
Phelps credited Ike Cousins Head Coach Wes Johnson with helping him improve his hitting on changeups.
"I was not a good right-on-right changeup hitter coming into this year, and he threw a lot of right-on-right changeups this fall. I mean, it sounds funny, but I was able to adjust to it, and now I see that pitch a little bit more — I see it a little deeper. Now, it's showing this year; I think I've hit four or five homers off of changeups," said Phelps, who now has 12 homers this season.
As a team, Georgia now has 87 home runs — by far the most in the nation. Last Sunday's win over South Carolina was the only game this season in which the Bulldogs haven't gone deep at least once.
The Bulldogs improved to 15-0 this season when they score at least 10 runs, but they don't have to have big blasts to produce wins. Georgia has scored fewer than 10 runs in eight of its last nine wins. Of the Bulldogs' 12 hits Tuesday, seven were either doubles or home runs; Georgia also had nine walks, three hit batters, and one stolen base.
"There are going to be a few games where we don't hit home runs, and we have to put balls on the line and put balls on the ground, and run them out. I think this team is definitely showing a lot more speed, we're definitely stealing a lot more bases, and just being able to show that we're very, very dynamic," said Phelps, who now has 12 home runs this season and has been hit by a pitch 20 times.
Georgia has stolen 28 bases in 32 attempts this season. In 2025, the Bulldogs finished with 67 steals.
"We don't need to go all or nothing sometimes," Branch said. "Sometimes we get away from that, and that's when we have some of our tougher games. We're hitting our singles, taking our walks, taking the doubles — it builds up over time, and that's when big innings come."
The Bulldogs' big inning came in the eighth, after Georgia State hit two three-run homers in the top of the frame to take a 9-6 lead. Phelps led off the bottom of the inning with a hit-by-pitch, then moved to second and third on a wild pitch and a passed ball. Daniel Jackson, who leads Georgia with 16 home runs, brought him home with a single to right field.
After Henry Allen flied out, Jackson stole second and then scored on a double to left field by Rylan Lujo. The next three batters drew walks, the last bringing in the tying run, and then Branch drove in a run on a fielder's choice to put Georgia up 10-9. Ryan Wynn followed that with a pinch-hit double to left, scoring Branch and Hudson, and then Phelps capped off a huge game and a huge inning with a two-run shot to left.
Up next for Georgia is a weekend series at No. 5 Mississippi State.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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