AUBURN, Ala. (Interstat) — Joey Volchko pitched five strong innings and two solo home runs carried Georgia to a 2-1 victory over Auburn on Thursday afternoon at Samford Stadium – Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park.

The Bulldogs, ranked in the Interstat ELO, improved to 42-11 overall and won their fourth straight Southeastern Conference series opener. Auburn fell to 35-17.

Auburn struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Mason McCraine led off with a double to left center, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Eddie Guevara. The Tigers added two more singles in the inning but left two runners on when Cole Fralick and Cooper Rembert were stranded by a double play.

Georgia answered in the top of the fifth. With two outs, Daniel Jackson homered to left field to tie the game. The Bulldogs took the lead in the sixth when Ryan Wynn homered to left center.

Those two runs were enough behind a dominant pitching performance. Volchko allowed one run on three hits while striking out six over five innings. He walked one and threw 68 pitches. He recovered from a tough first inning to retire 10 of the next 11 batters he faced, including four strikeouts.

Matt Scott replaced Volchko to start the sixth inning and threw four scoreless innings of one-hit relief, striking out six while issuing one walk. Scott retired the side in order in the seventh and eighth and worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to close out the win.

Auburn starter Jake Marciano took the loss despite six innings of four-hit ball. He allowed two earned runs, walked two and struck out five. Jackson Sanders pitched three scoreless innings of relief, giving up three hits while striking out five.

Offensively, Wynn went 2 for 3 with a home run, a walk and an RBI. Jackson was 1 for 2 with a home run and a walk. Rylan Lujo added a single in four at-bats for Georgia.

For Auburn, McCraine went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk. Fralick and Rembert each had a single. Eddie Madrigal and Bristol Carter combined to go 0 for 4 with a strikeout and a walk.

Georgia’s win came after a three-game sweep of LSU last weekend. The Bulldogs have won 12 of their last 13 games. Auburn had lost its previous game at Jacksonville State but had won two of three at Mississippi State the weekend before.

Volchko’s outing was a bounce-back effort after he allowed seven earned runs in 3⅓ innings against LSU on May 8. He had thrown six scoreless innings against Missouri on May 1.

The Bulldogs will try to clinch the series Friday and Saturday, also at Plainsman Park.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Georgia 8, Auburn 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave Georgia a 52.30 percent probability to win. Auburn was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5.