ATHENS, Ga. – The Wofford baseball team gave a strong comeback effort in the later innings against Georgia Tuesday evening at Foley Field, but the Bulldogs used an eight-run eighth to stave off the comeback and secure an 18-6 win in eight innings. The Terriers fall to 13-5 while the Bulldogs improve to 18-4.
 
Wofford starter Alec Bouchard (0-2) suffered the loss in his first-career start. He tossed the first 2.0 innings and allowed six runs on five hits and a walk with a strikeout. Six total pitchers toed the rubber for Wofford in the contest. Of note, John Gray pitched 2.0 scoreless innings, tying his career high for innings pitched.
 
Bulldog starter Zach DeVito (2-0) picked up the win after 2.0 scoreless innings with two hits and a walk allowed.
 
Brice Martinez recorded a third of Wofford's nine hits with his three base knocks, driving home one run. His double was Wofford's lone extra-base hit in the game. Andrew Mannelly and Tyler Bak both tallied two-hit days. Mannelly drove home two runs, as did Daniel Jackson.
 
The Terriers worked six walks in the game, their 11^th contest this season with at least five free passes. Bak swiped two bases, a new career high, and Adam Haber added one of his own. Those three give Wofford its 10^th game of the season with at least three stolen bases.
 
Georgia struck first early with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning, claiming a 1-0 lead.
 
The Bulldogs continued to score with runs in each of the first four frames. They added five more runs in the second, one more in the third and three more in the fourth for a 10-0 lead.
 
But in the top of the fifth, Wofford began to find a rhythm with three runs, all scoring with two outs. Marshall Toole reached after being hit with a pitch, and after out two was made, the rally began. Andrew Mannelly singled Toole home before scoring himself on Brice Martinez's double, and Daniel Jackson capped the frame with his RBI single. Wofford cut into the margin, 10-3.
 
After holding Georgia off the board for the first time in the fifth, the Terriers tacked on another in the top of the sixth. Tyler Bak worked a walk before stealing second, and pinch-hitter Adam Haber then drew his own walk to join him on the basepaths. A double steal put them both in scoring position, and Toole's sacrifice fly scored Bak. The manufactured run helped Wofford continue to chip away, reducing the margin to 10-4.
 
Wofford continued its comeback quest with another run in the seventh. Mannelly opened the inning with a walk, and Martinez singled for runners on the corners. Jackson then drove Mannelly in with his fielder's choice, making the score 10-5.
 
The Terriers pulled closer with a sixth run in the top of the eighth with Mannelly's sacrifice fly driving home Jack Renwick. But in the bottom of the frame, Georgia hit a groove to end the contest early. Pushing across eight runs, the Bulldogs sealed an 18-6 win in eight innings of action.
 
Wofford returns home this weekend to open Southern Conference play. The Citadel comes to Spartanburg for a three-game series beginning on Friday, March 22. Game one at Russell C. King Field is set to start at 5:30 p.m. with games two and three following on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m., respectively.