No. 18 Georgia Tech at No. 2 Georgia

WHERE: Foley Field

WHEN: Tuesday, 7: p.m.

RECORD: Georgia 27-6; Georgia Tech 22-10.

TV/RADIO: SEC Network; Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston)

There’s little that keeps your typical college baseball coach up more at night than wondering if he’s got enough starting pitching to make it through a typical three-game weekend series.

That hasn’t been a concern for Georgia’s Scott Stricklin.

“When you look at that starting rotation, all of those guys have done what we hoped they would do, and really even more so,” Stricklin said Monday in an interview with UGASports. “It’s been re-assuring to be able to put those names in the lineup, in the bottom of the scorecard in that pitching slot, knowing they’re going to go out and be able to do their jobs.”

If you’re looking for one reason why the Bulldogs (27-6, 9-3) currently sit atop the SEC and are ranked No. 2 and No. 3 by D1Baseball and Baseball America, respectively—look no further than what Georgia’s starting rotation is accomplishing.

For longtime followers of Georgia baseball, it’s a sight seldom seen.

Entering Tuesday night’s game against Georgia Tech (7 p.m., SEC Network), Bulldog starters have a record of 20-3 with a combined ERA of 2.14 for Georgia, which ranks third in the SEC in team ERA (2.85), with opponents batting a league-worst .186 in the team’s 33 games.

“We felt our starting pitching would be able to lead the way. We felt our defense would be very good. We were a Top 10 defense in the country last year, and with virtually everybody back, we felt our defense could be better, and we have been,” Stricklin said. “It’s been better than it was last year, and our pitching has taken that next step.”

Sophomore Emerson Hancock continues to show why he’s one of the nation’s best.

The Cairo native has been nothing short of amazing. In eight games, the hard-throwing right-hander is 6-1 with an ERA of 1.02, a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning) of 1.02 with 57 strikes in 50 innings. Opponents are batting just .139 against him.

But as we’ve seen, Georgia’s current four-man starting rotation is long on talent and depth.

Sophomore lefty C.J. Smith bedevils opposing hitters by not only throwing in the low 90s, but keeps them off-balance with his arsenal of changeups and breaking balls which have helped him go 3-1 with a 2.51 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .179 against Smith, who counts victories over LSU and Vanderbilt among his three wins.

Then there’s Tony Locey, the junior right-hander Stricklin says is the most competitive pitcher he’s ever had.

The former Houston County standout is 5-0 with a 2.18 ERA, with 54 strikeouts in 45.1 innings, a WHIP of 1.02 and a batting average of just .142 after throwing seven innings of one-hit ball against Vanderbilt, second in the SEC in batting at .306.

Weekday starter Tim Elliott, who will start Tuesday against Georgia Tech, is 4-1 with a 1.04 ERA, with 36 strikeouts in 34.2 innings, and with an opponents’ batting average of .129.

“They’re carrying this team. It’s cool to see what they’re doing,” junior reliever Zac Kristofak said. “Emerson, C.J., Tony all those guys did well this weekend, and it was good to see the bullpen guys do well all three days. We’re just rolling, man.”

It’s not just the numbers that are so impressive.

Against Vanderbilt, Hancock didn’t have his best stuff, while Locey struggled with some early command. But they were able to grind through and give Stricklin the outings with which he’s grown accustomed.

“When you look at what they did this weekend—Emerson, I thought, Friday night maybe had one of his poorest outings. But he gave up one run, so that just tells you how good he is,” Stricklin said. “Tony, the same thing. He was 1-0, 2-0, all the time, and he was behind in the count, but it tells you how good his stuff is when he went through that lineup for seven innings and gave up one hit and one run. It’s just incredible. It’s nice for those guys to not be on their A-plus game, and still win for us. But that’s what you get when you have guys with experience.”

Give pitching coach Sean Kenny a lion’s share of the credit.

Last year Georgia’s team ERA went from 5.02 in 2017 to 3.97 in Kenny’s first year after coming over from Michigan. If the season ended today, the Bulldogs’ team ERA of 2.85 would be the best in school history. A 2.97 ERA in 1958, a 3.26 ERA in 1967 and a 3.35 ERA in 1963 currently stand as the program’s top three marks of all time.

"I just think he’s really steady. He’s consistent with these guys. He’s not a real emotional guy. It’s funny, I hear him talk about how he got upset with them, and I heard what he said to them. That’s like a No. 2 on my upset level,” Stricklin said. “H’s just really steady and calm with them. He’s firm with them, he’ll tell them what they need to do, but he’s not a yeller or screamer. He’s just very steady and calm and consistent with everything he does. He’s also very sure. When he calls a game, there’s never any hesitation. I sit right by him, I hear every pitch that’s called, and every time he calls a pitch, it's just the right one. He’s just confident in what he does and I think the guys feed off that.”

That’s not all Hancock and company feed off of. Competition with each other does, too.

“Go back to 90s with the Braves, those guys always tried to best each other. It’s a really friendly competition, but those guys want to have the best start of the weekend before Emerson, C.J., and Tony and even Tim,” Stricklin said. “They just all feed off each other, they all support each other.”

Their effort in helping Georgia win a series against Vanderbilt for the first time since 2008 was a great example.

The Commodores’ boast why many will tell you is the toughest top three in the batting order of any team in the SEC, and perhaps the country. Cooper Davis entered play batting .357, Austin Martin .440 and JJ Bleday .353 with a league-best 12 home runs. Against Georgia pitching, the trio went 3-for-36, with Martin going 0-for-13 with just one RBI.

“I was really surprised when I saw the cumulative numbers. I remember looking at the chart as the game was going along, that so-and-so hadn’t gotten a hit yet, that so and so only had one hit, to put them all together and see that's really pretty incredible, because that lineup is something we came into the weekend certainly concerned about, because of how deep it was, how steady it was, and how many left-handed hitters there were,” Stricklin said. “There are no holes in that lineup, and they can do other things. They can bunt, run, they do a lot of different things. So it’s a testament to our pitching and defense that we were able to shut them down.”

NOTES: Locey was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week after throwing seven innings of one-hit ball to beat Vanderbilt Sunday. … Stricklin said that pitcher Will Proctor will know more today, but it appears the right-hander might be lost for the year. Proctor (3-0, 4.35) opened the season in the starting rotation, but hasn’t pitched in over a month. … The news is better for sophomore lefty Ryan Webb, who just appeared in four games before going on the shelf with an arm injury of his own. According to Stricklin, Webb will throw two bullpens this week before facing live hitters next Monday, in anticipation that he’ll be ready for Georgia’s next home series against Missouri. … First baseman Patrick Sullivan (concussion) is ready to resume playing following his injury against South Carolina. Stricklin said he could see action Tuesday night against Georgia Tech. … Mason Meadows didn’t play last weekend, despite being cleared, but according to Stricklin it’s a matter of time.