No. 5 Georgia baseball leaned on a dominant outing from its starting pitcher and timely offensive execution to secure a 4-0 shutout victory over Missouri on Friday night at Foley Field.

Junior right-hander Joey Volchko set the tone early, delivering six scoreless innings while allowing just five hits, walking two and striking out nine. His performance gave the Bulldogs  early control and preserved the bullpen heading into the weekend.

“I think it’s super important every week to give everything I can,” Volchko said. “Whether it’s five, six [innings], just going out there and competing and trying to get deep into the game, save our pen and set us up for a great weekend.”

Georgia’s offense broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning. Sophomore Kenny Ishikawa sparked the rally with his second career triple, his first as a Bulldog, and later scored on a sacrifice fly from senior Ryan Black to give Georgia a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs added insurance in the seventh inning when senior Michael O’Shaughnessy crushed his 15th home run of the season — and the 50th of his career — extending the lead to 2-0.

“When you see a left-handed pitcher, you try not to overthink,” O’Shaughnessy said. “We just keep the same approach and confidence, and just stay with it.”

Georgia broke the game open in the eighth inning. With the bases loaded, Black delivered again, ripping a two-run single to left field to push the Bulldogs’ lead to 4-0.

“I mean you look at Ryan Black come off the bench tonight,” head coach Wes Johnson said. “Ryan comes off, gets a sac fly, gets a big hit right there, two RBI’s, Ryan had a good day.”

On the mound, Georgia’s pitching staff remained in control throughout. Senior Matt Scott entered in relief and secured his third save of the season, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three to complete the shutout.

“I mean, Matt’s gone 100 pitches,” Johnson said. “It does give you a little bit of comfort because you’re not worried about him running out of gas.”

Both teams recorded six hits, but Georgia capitalized on extra-base opportunities, tallying two doubles and a triple. Missouri was unable to generate sustained offense, striking out 12 times compared to Georgia’s nine. Missouri starter Josh McDevitt took the loss.

With the win, Georgia gains early momentum in the series as it looks to build on a strong all-around performance. The series continues Saturday afternoon at Foley Field, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.