Assuming all goes well Thursday, Georgia will have starting shortstop Cole Tate back for this weekend’s big SEC series against visiting Vanderbilt.
Tate has not played since April 10 at South Carolina, a span of 13 games after suffering a stress fracture. The graduate student from Oconee County is Georgia’s second-leading hitter with a batting average of .331, two homers and 16 RBI. Getting his bat back in the lineup would qualify as a huge deal for a Bulldog team (31-14, 12-9 in the SEC Eastern Division) looking to finish the season strong ahead of postseason play.
“He’s cleared to hit against live pitching, which means you’re cleared. There still could be a setback or something like that, so we’ve got to see,” head coach Scott Stricklin said Wednesday. “He’s taking batting practice live. He has not seen live pitching yet, but that is going to be today and (Thursday). As long as he clears that hurdle, he’s good to go.”
With Tate back, replacement Josh McAllister is expected to slide back over to third base, with Parks Harber moving to first. Chaney Rogers would go from first to right field.
“I think that makes our defense better, because you’ve got a good third baseman who's become a great first baseman. Chaney’s a really good outfielder, and it just strengthens your bench,” Stricklin said. “If that’s the move we end up making, you’ve got Cole Wagner and Garrett Blaylock with bats in their hands, ready to hit. That’s most likely what we’ll do.”
Even if Tate does play, Stricklin said he’s unsure if he would participate in all nine games.
With two more weeks in the regular season against top-ranked Tennessee and Missouri to close out the regular season, Stricklin wants his entire team as healthy as possible.
“Conditioning could be an issue, but I’ve kind of joked with him, he’s in better shape now than he was before, because what he’s been having to do. He’s been swimming, he’s been on the bike, he’s been on the underwater treadmill, stuff he wasn’t doing before,” Stricklin said. “So, condition wise, we think he will be fine. He’s been out three weeks, but he’s been conditioning. The last 10 days he’s been taking ground balls and swinging. I think he’s ready to go.”
NOTES: Georgia’s weekend rotation will remain the same with Nolan Crisp (1-2, 4.72) on Friday, Jonathan Cannon (8-1, 2.04) on Saturday, and Liam Sullivan (3-2, 5.12) on Sunday. Cannon will be off his pitch count after being limited since coming back to the rotation after feeling tightness in the back of his forearm. … Division I Baseball and Baseball America both project the Bulldogs as regional hosts in upcoming 64-team field NCAA Tournament.
