No. 1 Arkansas at No. 7 Georgia

WHEN: Friday 6 p.m., Saturday 4 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m.

WHERE: Foley Field

RECORDS: Georgia 30-5, 8-4; Arkansas 31-3, 11-1.

STARTING PITCHERS: Friday – RH Brian Curley (2-0, 3.45) vs LH Zach Root (5-1, 3.48); Saturday – Kolten Smith (2-1, 4.34) vs RH Gabe Goeckle (2-0, 5.77); Sunday – RH Leighton Finley (2-0, 6.44) vs LH Landon Beidenschies (4-0, 3.82).

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

Georgia players arrived at Foley Field for practice on Thursday with a gift lying inside their respective lockers.

The present – in the form of a black t-shirt – read “I Love Hitting Left-Handed Pitching.”

“There's probably a little message behind that,” Robbie Burnett, who along with the rest of Georgia’s hitters have scuffled at times against Southpaws. “I think it's probably built up a little bit over the season. I don't think we've done as good as we can against lefties, we're just gonna emphasize that.”

It’s easy to see why.

As impressive as Georgia’s bats have been – including a nation’s best 92 home runs – left-handed pitchers have given the Bulldogs problems.

Georgia sports a record of 24-2 against right-handers but is just 6-3 against lefties, with all three losses coming last weekend at Texas.

Although the Bulldogs belted five home runs, Longhorn pitchers held Georgia to a weekend batting average of just .156.

Two of Arkansas’ three starters this weekend - Zach Root (5-1, 3.48) and Landon Beidelschies (4-0, 3.82) - are also left-handed.

Skipper Wes Johnson hopes the shirts are a way of getting his hitters’ attention.

“You guys watch the games. Right now, they're having their way with us. It’s kind of like I told them, if you're in a good relationship, you've got to give some love back. Right now, they're (left-handed pitchers) getting all the love. We've got to give some love back,” Johnson said. “So, yeah, it's just a little fun, sure, just to try to loosen them up a little bit. It's not rocket science. If you've been at the games or you have any form of stats, you know they've gotten us here the last couple of weeks. We're just trying to change that. It’s nothing against anybody. I'm not calling out anybody. It's more for us and our team.”

This wasn’t the first time Johnson has used a T-shirt to encourage his players to hit left-handers better.

When the Arkansas native was the head coach at Abundant Life High School in his hometown of Sherwood, Ark., he did the same thing.

“It’s high school, so it’s way different, a different talent level. But it worked, so we'll see,” Johnson said. “Maybe it doesn’t work. But this was more to just change our mindset.”

Kolten Smith will start Saturday’s Game 2 with left-hander Charlie Goldstein sliding to the bullpen.

“Kolten’s getting back into the rotation,” Johnson said of Smith, who will be making just his second start of the year.

The right-hander was initially scheduled to be the starter in the season-opener at UNC-Wilmington but was pulled due to a tight back. His season was further complicated due to an illness that caused him to lose 12 pounds, and he’s just now getting back into his former shape.

Although Smith enters Saturday’s game with an ERA of 4.34, his last 14.2 innings have seen the right-hander allow just four runs on nine hits with seven walks and 23 strikeouts for an ERA of 2.53.

As for Goldstein, who is coming back from Internal Brace surgery and has been on a pitch count, he has started eight games for Georgia.

Although that pitch count has steadily increased, struggles locating his fastball have led to Goldstein giving up five home runs among his 13 hits allowed.

Johnson said Goldstein would still play a big role this weekend.

“There's a lot of good right-handed hitters in that lineup,” Johnson said of Arkansas. “You need a left-handed weapon slider in that bullpen to hold these guys down.”

This weekend is expected to mark the return of Tre Phelps, who has missed the past eight games recovering from a hamstring injury.

“Yeah, Tre’s 100 percent available. You see him in the lineup tomorrow,” Johnson said. “He’s still got a mini hurdle to clear. I’ve seen guys trip over that one, but as we stand here today, I expect him playing at some point this weekend.”

Having Phelps and his right-handed bat back in the lineup qualifies as great news. The sophomore is hitting .305 with five home runs and 26 RBI.

• Both Georgia and Arkansas programs are off to their best start in school history. After posting a pair of SEC sweeps over ranked teams to get to 8-1 in the league, it was the Bulldogs (30-5, 8-4 SEC) who were swept last weekend on the road, falling to then No. 5 Texas. Georgia entered that series among the national leaders in scoring, averaging 10.5 runs a game. However, Texas held Georgia to eight runs as the Longhorns won 5-1, 7-4, and 4-3 in 10 innings. Meanwhile, Arkansas hammered Missouri in Fayetteville with a program-record 51 runs in an SEC series in registering their third consecutive SEC sweep. In fact, the Razorbacks have won 11 straight SEC games after dropping their opener at Ole Miss on March 14.

• Arkansas leads the series 37-28, with the first meeting coming at the 1987 College World Series (5-4 Razorback victory). Most recently, the Bulldogs swept then fifth-ranked Arkansas in 2023 at Foley Field, winning 6-5, 7-3, and 9-8.

• Georgia is a consensus top-10 squad in year two of the Wes Johnson era. The Bulldogs are 22-1 at home, 6-4 on the road, and 2-0 at neutral sites this season. They are fielding .985. Johnson served as pitching coach on Dave Van Horn’s Arkansas staff from 2017-18, advancing to the College World Series Finals in 2018. In November of 2018, Johnson was hired as the pitching coach of the Minnesota Twins.

• Georgia’s last series against a No. 1 team came in 2024 on the road against Texas A&M. The Aggies won the series 2-1. Georgia’s last series win over a No. 1 team came in 2021 when it beat Vanderbilt 2-1 in Nashville. That year, the Bulldogs faced the No. 1 Commodores, plus No. 1 Arkansas in Fayetteville (UA 2-1). The last No. 1 team to visit Athens was Vanderbilt in 2015, and VU posted a sweep. Georgia’s last series win over a No. 1 team at Foley Field came in 1993 with a sweep of Mississippi State.

• The Bulldogs are batting .315 with a .612 slugging percentage and NCAA-leading 92 home runs. They have a .453 On Base percentage with 221 walks, been hit 85 times plus are 47-for-52 in stolen bases. The team’s leading hitters are roommates Ryland Zaborowski (.424-15-51, .949 slugging percentage) and Robbie Burnett (.339-15-51, 11 SB). Zaborowski and Burnett rank among the NCAA leaders in home runs, slugging percentage, on base percentage, and RBI. Recently, Zaborowski was named the NCBWA/Dick Howser Trophy National Hitter of the Month for March and a mid-season All-American by multiple outlets. Burnett made the second team mid-season All-America lists, too. The Bulldog lineup may see INF/OF Tre Phelps (.305-5-26) return. He reached base safely in the first 27 games this year but has missed the last eight games due to a hamstring injury. Arkansas is batting an SEC-leading .335 with 74 home runs, a .601 slugging percentage, and a .449 on-base percentage. They are 29-for-40 in stolen base attempts. The leading hitters are Cam Kozeal (.411-7-37) and Charles Davalan (.410-12-41). The Razorbacks also feature former Georgia outfielder Justin Thomas. The Savannah native is hitting .286 with four homers and 19 RBI.

• The Bulldogs have posted a 4.76 ERA with 357 strikeouts and 162 walks. Opponents are batting .225 against Georgia. Arkansas has a 3.52 ERA with 338 strikeouts and 92 walks this season. Opponents are batting .226 against Arkansas with 23 home runs.