Kevin Smith leads Georgia past Georgia Southern

Freshman pitcher Kevin Smith tossed seven innings of one-run ball to lead Georgia to a 5-1 victory and a series win over Georgia Southern on Sunday at Foley Field.

The Bulldogs (2-1) struck first in the fourth inning on an RBI fielder's choice for freshman LJ Talley, his first career RBI. The Eagles evened the score at 1 in the top of the fifth on an error, but Georgia responded in a big way in the bottom half. The Bulldogs sent eight batters to the plate and scored four runs, all with two outs, to open up a 5-1 lead. Sophomore Keegan McGovern launched a double off the center field wall to score two runs, while the other two runs came via a misjudged fly ball to right field off the bat of freshman Michael Curry.

Smith's impressive debut came at the expense of the Georgia Southern lineup, which struck out seven times and managed only two hits on the lefty in seven innings pitched.

The Bulldogs' Skyler Weber and McGovern accounted for five of Georgia's seven hits hitting out of the two- and three-hole, respectively. Weber and McGovern also lead the team in batting average after the first series.

Georgia Southern's Hunter Phillips (0-1), one of six pitchers utilized by the Eagles, was charged with the loss after surrendering two earned runs on one hit in two-thirds of an inning.

This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Kevin Smith leads Georgia past Georgia Southern ."