There is an excitement around Athens: Georgia baseball. Scott Stricklin has this year's squad looking good both at the plate and in the field. The SEC Tournament is this week. The week after, the Bulldogs should be hosting an NCAA Regional and hopefully more. Before the action resumes, here are the top nine stats I've come up with to help you with the season so far.
1) As every Dawg fan knows, the first four seasons under Stricklin were not pretty. This season is different. Check out the basic numbers to prove it.
Georgia is also 8-5 in one-game match-ups this season, compared to 7-11 last season. They are also 10-9 against ranked teams in 2018 after finishing 5-15 against ranked foes in 2017.
One thing that hasn't changed too much is Stricklin's success against Georgia Tech. After sweeping them again this season (2nd season in a row), Stricklin is 10-4 vs. the Yellow Jackets as the Bulldogs' head coach. He has also won the season series against South Carolina in each of his five seasons.
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2) In innings one through nine, Georgia has won the inning battle in eight frames with only the ninth inning as a loss (also extra innings). While it is nice to have more runs in the ninth, it is rare for a team that has a dominant home record (23-6) to have scored more runs in the final regulation inning when the majority of time they do not come to bat. Last season, Georgia outscored their opponents in just two innings (eighth and ninth).
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3) Keegan McGovern has been a huge part of Georgia’s success this season. The senior has been outstanding at bat, on the basepaths and in the field pretty much all season (the last out on Saturday is an example). His total of 15 home runs this season is tied for fifth in the SEC, and the most by a Bulldog since 2009. He had just 11 home runs in his first three seasons (161 games), including two last season. He tied a school record by hitting three against UNC-Charlotte back in February. He also leads the conference in runs scored. Check out McGovern’s stats so far and how he ranks among his teammates.
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4) Aaron Schunk is another big reason why Georgia is looking good as it eyed Omaha. As a freshman last season, he was having a solid campaign hitting .290 (.328 in conference) when he had a season-ending thumb injury on April 19. So far this season, Schunk is hitting .315 with three home runs and currently has a 22-game hit streak, which is the third longest in school history (Josh Hudson holds the record with 28 in 1999). Schunk has also been valuable as the team’s closer. As of now, he has eight saves, which is tied for tenth most in a season by a Bulldog. He, along with Joshua Fields (18 Saves/2 HR in 2008) and Chris Crawford (5 Saves and 13 HR in 1997), are the only Bulldogs ever to have five or more saves and hit multi-home runs in the same season.
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5) When Michael Curry hit the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning against Arkansas on Saturday, it was his tenth blast of the season. It was the first time since 2009 that more than one Bulldog has hit 10+ in the same season. In 2009, the Bulldogs set a team record with 109 home runs as five different players hit double-digit dingers. Curry has 31 taters in his career and one more he will be in the Bulldogs all-time top ten list. By the way, Adam Sasser can join the double-digit parade soon as he has nine home runs this season.
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6) Another stat for the Dawgs that is grand is what they have been doing with the bases loaded. So far this season, they have hit six grand slams, which ties a team record also held in 1982, 1985, and 2001. The slams have been delivered by a pair by Curry and one each by Mason Meadows, Cam Shepherd, Sasser, and LJ Talley. Georgia only hit four grand slams combined in the previous four seasons.
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7) Sean Kenny has taken the reigns as Georgia’s pitching coach and the results have been very good. Despite a rocky series vs. the Razorbacks, the Bulldogs ERA currently stands at 3.71. Last season, their ERA was at 5.02. The opposition had an ERA under 4.00 just two times in the last 40 seasons (2012 and 2015). Georgia’s opponents are hitting .229 this season (the Bulldog record in .241). In terms of individual games won, Kevin Smith has eight victories, becoming the first Georgia player to win that many since Michael Palazzone (10 wins) in 2011. Reason No. 1,990 that baseball is strange: Chase Adkins is 5-0 this season with a 4.15 ERA. Last season he was 6-7 with a lower ERA of 3.95.
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8) Even though Crash Davis thought strikeouts were boring and fascist (a little bit of salty language in that video, by the way), six Georgia pitchers have averaged more than a strikeout an inning this season. Those hurlers include: Smith (76 K, 59 2/3 IP); Emerson Hancock (73, 72 1/3); Tony Locey (50/ 45 1/3); Zac Kristofak (47/ 36 1/3); Schunk (26/ 25 1/3); and Adam Goodman (9, 8 1/3). The team currently has 479 and they have a good chance of reaching 500 for the first time since 2008 (team record in 530 in 2001).
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9) Lastly, Georgia currently has a .982 fielding percentage with 42 errors. Last season, its fielding percentage was .962 and the Bulldogs committed 82 errors. The team record for fielding percentage is .978 in 2012.
