No. 4 Georgia at Kentucky
WHERE: Lexington, KY
WHEN: Thursday 7 p.m., Friday 6:30 p.m., Saturday 2 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 21-4, 5-1; Kentucky 15-10, 0-6
STARTING PITCHERS: Thursday – Emerson Hancock (5-1, 0.69) vs Jimmy Ramsey (2-1, 7.84); Friday – C.J. Smith 2-0, 2.05) vs. Zack Thompson (1-0, 2.60); Saturday – Tony Locey (4-0, 2.10)
TV/RADIO: Thursday (SEC Network; Mike Morgan and Chris Burke); Friday-Saturday (SEC Network*); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston).
Not having starting catcher Mason Meadows for the foreseeable future definitely doesn’t qualify as good news for the fourth-ranked Georgia baseball team.
Fortunately, the Bulldogs (21-4) are at least in a position to cover for the injury, thanks to quality depth. That's due in large part to the presence of junior Austin Biggar, who figures to handle the bulk of the duties until Meadows is able to return.
“It definitely gives us a lot of confidence, because Biggar caught a lot for us last year. He’s caught a lot of SEC games, a lot of big-time games,” said pitcher Emerson Hancock, whose Bulldog teammates will be in Lexington, KY for a three-game series against the Wildcats starting Thursday night.
“To have a guy like that, knowing he’s going to block balls--that to me is huge,” he said. “It’s awesome to have that depth.”
Head coach Scott Stricklin agrees.
“It’s the one position we do have a lot of depth at. We’ve got Austin, Shane Marshall, and John Cable, so we’ve got three guys who can catch back there,” Stricklin said. “We lose a lot of leadership with Mason, but we’ve got some depth back there. Both those guys are going to catch, and Cable will be the third guy if something comes up.”
Biggar, who drove in the go-ahead run in Saturday’s win over LSU and hit a two-run homer in the eighth during Sunday’s victory, is no stranger to being behind the plate.
As a freshman, Biggar started 44 of 46 games behind the plate as a freshman in 2017, and 16 of 23 last year.
“I’ve caught a lot of games my freshmen and sophomore years combined, so I have a lot of experience,” Biggar said. “That goes a long way. To have all those games under my belt, I think it will help a lot.”
The Bulldogs did receive some encouraging news regarding Meadows on Tuesday.
Although he’s got some facial fractures, Stricklin said it’s still up in the air whether Meadows will have to undergo surgery. However, it’s still going to be some time before he’s back on the field.
“Really, it’s not going to change. He’s going to be out at least four weeks,” Stricklin said. “It might be a little bit longer, but we’re anticipating he’s going to be back before the end of the season.”
Meadows—who hasn’t returned to class since the injury last Sunday— suffered the freak accident when he fouled a ball directly below his left eye.
“You take an ungodly amount of swings, and that never happens,” Biggar said. “I’ve never seen it happen. It was crazy. We’ve just got to move on and keep playing.”
That’s just what the Bulldogs intend to do, despite Tuesday’s 11-2 loss at Georgia Tech, a game that was cut short in the seventh due to rain.
“In the fifth inning, it was a really good ball game, but after he went out, it kind of went sideways on us. I reminded our guys when we got off the bus last night that we’re 21-4, we’re 5-1 in the SEC and we’re ranked fourth in the country,” Stricklin said. “We’re a really good team that had a bad night. But we turned the page and are ready to go to Kentucky to try and win a series.”
NOTES: Due to recent injuries, Stricklin said he’s taking just 26 players to the series at Kentucky. Teams are allowed to take 27. He’d hoped to take first baseman Patrick Sullivan (concussion), but there was concern that the flight from Athens to Lexington may do the first baseman more harm than good. . . Stricklin confirmed that next year Georgia and Georgia Tech hope to play their three-game regular season series in one weekend prior to SEC play. Game 1 would be played in either Athens or Atlanta, Game 2 at SunTrust Park, and Game 3 in either Athens or Atlanta, depending on what school hosts the first contest. . . Next weekend’s home series against Vanderbilt has already been announced as a sellout.
