Georgia Baseball Unleashes Dynamic Pitching Duo in Dominant Season Opener
If Friday night was any indication, Georgia baseball might have found a one-two punch on the mound that could give hitters nightmares all season long.
Joey Volchko and Caden Aoki couldn’t be more different in their approach, but that contrast is exactly what makes them such a lethal tandem. Volchko brings the heat - high-velocity fastballs that top out at 97 mph - while Aoki takes a more surgical route, painting the corners with precision and disrupting timing with finesse. Together, they overwhelmed Wright State in Georgia’s season opener, combining for 13 strikeouts over seven innings in a 13-1 run-rule win.
Wright State, a team that made the NCAA Tournament last year, never really stood a chance once Volchko and Aoki got rolling.
“I was in the dugout after they gave us the card, and I saw Aoki was in,” third baseman Tre Phelps said. “I was like, ‘They’ll be done.’
I’ve never had to (go against) that. I’m glad.”
Volchko handled the first four innings, giving up just two hits and a single run while striking out five. The Stanford transfer leaned heavily on his fastball, mixing in changeups to keep hitters guessing.
Then came Aoki, and the game flipped on its head. The right-hander took over in the fifth with Georgia clinging to a 2-1 lead and slammed the door shut - three innings, eight strikeouts, no walks, and just two hits allowed.
His fastball topped out at 91 mph, but the deception in his delivery and command of the zone made him nearly untouchable.
“It’s a complete 180,” Volchko said of Aoki’s style. “He’s an absolute master of his craft. It’s impressive watching him pitch.”
Both pitchers were starters before transferring to Georgia, and either one could easily be in the Bulldogs’ rotation. But head coach Wes Johnson saw an opportunity to pair them up - a decision that came together after the Christmas break - and the early returns speak for themselves.
“We thought these two guys could complement each other really well, and they did today,” Johnson said. “We’ll continue to tweak some things, and hopefully we’ll continue to do that.”
Georgia’s deep pitching staff gives Johnson that kind of flexibility. The Bulldogs brought in 13 arms through the transfer portal, 10 of whom started games in 2025. That depth allows Georgia to experiment - and Friday’s experiment looked like a winning formula.
But it wasn’t just the pitching that stood out. Georgia’s offense, which led the league in home runs last season, wasted no time flexing its muscles again.
Phelps launched a two-run homer in the first inning to get things going. And while Wright State starter Cam Allen exited early with an injury after facing just three batters, freshman left-hander Michael Zielinski stepped in and briefly silenced Georgia’s bats with three hitless innings, striking out four and walking none.
“We didn’t have anything on him,” Johnson said of Zielinski. “It’s so early in the season you get a freshman that comes in and you don’t have any data on him. You don’t know where he throws the ball, you don’t even know what his pitch mix is, and that was the case with that young man.”
Once Zielinski exited, though, Georgia’s offense reignited. The Bulldogs plated three in the fifth and exploded for eight runs in the sixth to put the game out of reach. And it wasn’t just power - it was patience.
Strike zone discipline was a major focus for Georgia in the offseason, particularly in the transfer portal. They targeted hitters who could work counts, draw walks, and avoid strikeouts. That approach paid off in a big way Friday, as the Bulldogs drew six walks and were hit by seven pitches - nearly doubling their average number of free passes per game from last season.
“When you have guys shrinking the zone and just keep putting at-bats together like that, then (the offensive performance) is definitely going to take care of itself,” Phelps said.
Phelps finished 1-for-1 with three RBIs and three hit-by-pitches. Daniel Jackson added a 1-for-3 line with four RBIs. Both homered - Georgia’s only two long balls of the night - but the damage was done just as much through discipline as it was through power.
Georgia wraps up its series against Wright State on Saturday with a doubleheader. Sophomore lefty Kenny Ishikawa gets the ball in Game 1 at 1 p.m., followed by junior right-hander Dylan Vigue in the series finale.
If the Bulldogs continue to get this kind of production on the mound and at the plate, they won’t just be a tough out - they’ll be a problem.