No. 2 Georgia at Tennessee
WHERE: Lindsey Nelson Stadium, Knoxville
WHEN: Thursday 7 p.m., Friday 6:30 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 28-6, 9-3; Tennessee 24-10, 4-8
TV/RADIO: Thursday – SEC Network (Dave Neal and Mike Rooney), Friday-Saturday – SEC Network+; Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (David Johnston, Jeff Dantzler)
STARTING PITCHERS: Thursday – Emerson Hancock (6-1, 1.02) vs TBA; Friday – C.J. Smith (3-1, 2.51) vs TBA; Saturday – Tony Locey (5-0, 2.18) vs TBA
Catchers are a close-knit fraternity. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking college or the major leagues, you’ll always find someone willing to help.
Such has been the case with Georgia catcher Mason Meadows, who suffered a frightening injury when he fouled a ball directly off his face last month against LSU.
Knowing the redshirt sophomore would do well to start wearing a protective mask – head coach Scott Stricklin – himself a former catcher – reached out to another catcher to see if he could lend a hand – Tyler Flowers of the Atlanta Braves.
Flowers was happy to help, enabling Georgia to purchase a state-of-the-art mask for Meadows like he and other catchers now wear in the major leagues.
“I think Coach Stricklin knows him, so it was cool that coach told me he was going to get me a protective mask and the next day it was here,” Meadows said. “Tyler is great to us. He’s sent us a couple of masks before, but it’s great equipment, kind of a new technology.”
According to Meadows, his new mask actually serves a couple of functions.
“I love the mask. It’s a big old thing, but it keeps me safe and I love wearing it,” Meadows said. “The thing right now is, the light is a little bright to my eyes, but it’s good because the mask actually blocks off my eyes.”
Meadows debuted his new mask during Tuesday night’s 12-2 win over Georgia Tech, and will wear it again in Georgia’s upcoming series at Tennessee that begins Thursday night in Knoxville (7 p.m., SEC Network).
According to Meadows, his new mask goes a long way to helping him feel more comfortable behind the plate, knowing his entire head and neck is protected.
Nevertheless, there have been some mental hurdles he’s had to overcome after missing nine games following the incident that took place March 24 against LSU.
“Getting out there, I told myself I was just going to take a big ole swing, no matter what I get,” Meadows said. “However, I end up getting in the box, and he was already through his windup so I didn’t get quite the swing I wanted on it. But I saw a grain, put a barrel on it and it felt good. It kind of got my confidence up because hitting is the thing I haven’t got much repetition with, I’ve been in the pen catching and things like that.”
A fourth-inning single would boost his confidence even more, although getting back in the box wasn’t the only obstacle Meadows said he had to overcome.
“I would say blocking pitches, just with the possibility of it hitting your mask and kind of jarring you a little bit. Plus, just hitting, getting back in the box. Hitting is tough to do. It’s not too easy,” he said. “The first pitch my second at-bat was a little bit in, and I had a little bit of a flashback to a couple of weeks ago. But the biggest thing is just staying positive, keeping my confidence up, and Coach (Stricklin), and my teammates have done good job of that.”
