When the SEC released its baseball schedule and Rusty Branch saw that Oklahoma would be coming to Athens this weekend to take on Georgia, one thought immediately crossed his mind.

“Lordy, Lordy, what are we going to do?” laughed Branch, who, along with wife Kari, will watch sons Kolby and Kyle Branch compete against each other for the first time in their respective careers when No. 10 Georgia hosts the 14th-ranked Sooners.

A junior, Kolby is a two-year starter at shortstop for the Bulldogs, while Kyle is a freshman and the starting second baseman for Oklahoma.

“I’ve always thought that it would be really, really fun to watch it. But as we get closer, I'm kind of going, I think I'm going to enjoy the pregame, the postgame, everything that comes about it,” Branch said. “But I really haven't been able to reconcile in my brain how we're going to handle the, you know … It's going to be interesting cheering for the other team that you're not used to cheering for. I don't necessarily know if I look forward to that. I may just try to keep my mouth shut and take it all in and appreciate the opportunity to be there.”

Branch joked he takes his job as a baseball dad seriously.

When he’s at Oklahoma watching Kyle, or Athens watching Kolby, there’s never any question as to which team he wants to win.

Wife Kari takes it more in stride.

“Kari has spent the last 20 years watching baseball, cheering for both teams. She's used to this. She cheers for the other team, whether it's her son or not,” Branch said. “I'm more competitive than she is. I want to destroy the other team, and what I'm trying to say is I don't know how to root for... I don't know how to cheer for a game that I don't want the other team to get destroyed."

The fact that both sons are integral parts of their respective teams adds some extra flavor to this weekend’s series, which gets underway Thursday night at 7.

Kyle Branch has started all 40 games at second for Oklahoma and comes in batting .302 with two homers and 22 RBIs. He’s also 12 of 12 in stolen bases.

“Yeah, I think that'll change for him this weekend,” said Kolby Branch, who has started all 43 games at shortstop for the Bulldogs. He’s batting .304 with eight homers and 24 RBI. Like his younger brother, the elder Branch has yet to be caught stealing and comes into the series a perfect 6-of-6.

The good-natured ribbing doesn’t stop there.

“I don't know his stats. I mean, I watched the game the other day, and I saw he was hitting .300-something with eight or nine home runs, but then he decided to strike out,” quipped Kyle.

Kolby Branch just shook his head when told little brother was already throwing down the gauntlet.

“Yeah, yeah, he'll do that,” he said. “If he wants to throw the first blow, I'll let him do that. But I'll get him back.”

Still, make no mistake, both brothers are aware of the significance this weekend is for the family.

“That means a lot. It's just cool looking back and seeing all the moments that we would go out and hit off the tee and stuff that nobody saw,” Kyle Branch said. “He would pitch to me, I would pitch to him, and he would absolutely crush me. It was just stuff like that which was really motivating, and it's bittersweet now looking back at it.”

Kolby Branch agreed, although he admits that when the first pitch is thrown, it’s game on.

“I hope that we can both compete at a high level and slow the game down. He can keep doing what he's doing, and I'll be proud of him for whatever he does,” Kolby Branch said. “But when he gets on the field, it's game time. I want to kick his butt as much as he wants to kick mine.”

Rusty Branch can vouch for that.

“They will handle it just fine. Kyle is the more outwardly competitive of the two. So, he's coming for one reason. He's coming for the sole purpose to kick his brother's butt,” Rusty Branch said. “Kolby has always been the more silent, competitive one. We’ll have dinner; I think hopefully Wednesday night and we'll get together. But after that, they know they can hug after the game if they're there to kick each other's tail.”

This weekend will mark the first time the two brothers have been on opposite sides of the field.

“From the day I was born, he was my hero. I looked up to him in every single facet of life, what he did off the field, on the field. I would go to every single one of his practices with a ball and a glove, and I would play with his team when my team wasn't playing,” Kyle Branch said. “Just getting to be able to be a part of his life was really special to me. I mean, we were best friends growing up.”

As you might imagine, this weekend will be a true family affair with approximately 20 family members and close friends making the trip to Athens.

“As parents, we are having the absolute time of our lives, and we realize that it's not going to last forever. When we get home every Monday and we go, okay, not again. We can't do that. But then by Wednesday, we're like, all right, where are we going this weekend, and we tee it back up,” Rusty Branch said. “But we're crystal clear that we are living a fairy tale, and we're thankful for that.”