Georgia baseball coach Scott Stricklin wanted a fast start this season and he got it on Friday at Foley Field.

Ben Anderson led off the game with a home run for the No. 14-ranked Bulldogs en route to the team’s 4-2 season-opening win over Albany. Stricklin recently said Anderson “hit every ball on the nose” last season but dealt with a lot of hard luck.

UGA, ready for good fortunes, returns to the diamond at 3 p.m. on Saturday for the second game of the three-game set with the Great Danes.

RELATED: Georgia baseball aiming higher in 2022, takes cue from championship football team

Junior Jonathan Cannon, one of 13 returning pitchers with experience, threw six scoreless innings to get the win. Cannon fanned four batters, allowed two hits and didn’t give up any walks.

“Jonathan was really good and that’s what we need on a Friday night,” said Stricklin, who’s opening his ninth season leading the team.

“Albany was aggressive and swung early. We played good defense behind our pitchers and turned three double plays. I would’ve liked to see us do more offensively but (Ray) Weber was good for them. Bottom line, we got the win.”

Redshirt senior Josh McAllister hit his 10th career home run, a two-run shot that made it 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth.

The Bulldogs’ final run came on Cory Acton’s RBI single in the seventh inning, the lead growing to 4-0.

The Great Danes got on the scoreboard in the top of the eighth on Brad Malm’s two-run homer.

The entertainment for Bulldogs’ fans started before the game when quarterback Stetson Bennett took batting practice.

Bennett, a 24-year-old graduate returning for another season at Georgia, threw out the first pitch on Friday.