WHERE: Foley Field
WHEN: Friday 3 p.m.; Saturday DH First game at 2 p.m. (second game to follow 45 minutes afterward); Sunday 1 p.m.
RECORD: Georgia 9-1; Florida Gulf Coast 4-4
STARTING PITCHERS: Friday: Leighton Finley (1-0, 1.00) vs TBA; Saturday: Game 1 Charlie Goldstein (0-0, 0.00; on a pitch count) vs TBA, Game 2 Alton Davis (2-0, 1.35) vs TBA; Sunday JT Quinn (0-0, 6.00; on a pitch count).
TV/RADIO: ESPN+; Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston)
Pitching plans for the weekend
Georgia’s starting rotation will have a bit of a different look when the sixth-ranked Bulldogs entertain Florida Gulf Coast for four games starting Friday.
With Wes Johnson taking it easy with Kolten Smith after not pitching last weekend due to the flu, left-hander Alton Davis II will make his first start in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Leighton Finley (1-0, 1.00) gets the call in Friday’s 3 p.m. opener, with Charlie Goldstein (0-0) starting Saturday’s Game 1. The series wraps up Sunday with JT Quinn (0-0, 6.00).
Both Quinn and Goldstein will be on pitch counts. Saturday’s second game will be a seven-inning affair.
“To add a third guy into a pitch count start, boy, I know our bullpen's been good, but that's really taxing it. So trying to get some length out of the other two guys, that's kind of why (Smith) won't start this week,” Johnson said before practice on Thursday. “We'll find a good spot for him and give him plenty of time, more than likely to come in in a clean inning and treat it like a start.”
Georgia’s bullpen has been impressive.
As a group, Bulldog relievers collectively are 8-0 with a 1.00 ERA. In 63 innings, Georgia’s bullpen has allowed just seven earned runs with 79 strikeouts and 29 walks. Opponents are hitting .091.
“Yeah, they know they got good stuff, and that's one thing to know you have good stuff, but to come out and bring it into the game with confidence. I think that's what you're seeing,” Johnson said. “We need to keep that as high as we can. It seems like they're throwing strikes for the most part, although as a pitching coach, you're always wanting no walks.”
This and That
• Twelve different position players have started a game for the Bulldogs, with five starting all 10 this season: Slate Alford, Kolby Branch, Robbie Burnett, Nolan McCarthy, and Tre Phelps.
• Twenty pitchers have seen action, seven have at least one win, and the innings leader is junior Leighton Finley (1-0, 1.00 ERA) with nine.
• Four Bulldogs have a save: Brian Curley, Matthew Hoskins, DJ Radtke, and Jordan Stephens.
• The Bulldogs began the game against UIC last weekend with a team cycle. Ryan Black led off with a single; Alford smashed a double; Burnett followed with a two-run game-tying triple; and Daniel Jackson cranked a two-run home run for a 4-2 lead in an eventual 17-3 rout.
• Twice this season, the bullpen has provided 7.2 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in a game. The first time came in a 6-2 road loss to UNCW on Feb. 16 and then again in a 7-3 road win over Georgia State last Wednesday.
