Georgia hosts No. 5 Arkansas without two of its key pitchers
No. 5 Arkansas at Georgia
WHERE: Foley Field
WHEN: Thursday, 7 p.m., Friday 6 p.m., Saturday 2 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 20-17, 4-11; Arkansas 30-7, 11-4
STARTING PITCHERS: Thursday - RH Kolten Smith (1-1, 4.80) vs LH Hunter Hollan (6-1, 2.81); Friday - LH Charlie Goldstein (1-1, 5.67) vs. TBA; Saturday - Liam Sullivan (4-2, 4.14) vs TBA
TV/RADIO: Thursday - SEC Network (John Schriffen and David Dellucci)); Friday-Saturday - SEC Network+ (Matt Stewart and Jason Jacobs); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston)
Bad news on the injury front
There’s more bad news on the pitching front for Georgia, which hosts No. 5 Arkansas for three games starting Thursday night at Foley Field.
Head coach Scott Stricklin told UGASports that freshman pitcher Matthew Hoskins (1-2, 4.12) will undergo Tommy John surgery and will be lost for the rest of the year, and perhaps much of 2024.
This wasn’t the only disturbing news.
Junior lefty Jaden Woods (3-2, 5.59) will not pitch this weekend due to what Stricklin said was “arm fatigue.” Stricklin hopes he will be able to pitch next week when the Bulldogs travel to Ole Miss.
Freshman Kolten Smith (1-1, 4.80) will start Thursday night’s opener against the Razorbacks in the place of Woods.
Hoskins had been one of the few bright spots for the Bulldogs, seeing high-leverage situations in the back end of the Bulldog bullpen.
Charlie Goldstein (1-1. 5.67) will pitch Friday for the Bulldogs, with Liam Sullivan (4-1, 4.14) pitching the finale on Saturday afternoon.
SEC standings a tale of haves and have nots
Stricklin admits he doesn’t look at the SEC standings.
“I don’t want to look at the standings right now, because it makes me sick,” Stricklin said of the standings, where Missouri (5-9), Tennessee (5-9), and Georgia (4-10) currently bring up the rear in the SEC East.
The West is not any better.
Defending national champion Ole Miss has the worst league record at 3-12, with Mississippi State and Auburn both 5-10.
“I don't think there's that much of a difference in our league top to bottom it's a really good league. But right now, there’s just some separation,” Stricklin said. “Kentucky has played really well, South Carolina has played really well and put themselves in a good spot. Tennessee and Ole Miss you know those are teams that were picked a little higher, and they're not.”
The top 12 teams advance to the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, but that’s the last thing on Stricklin’s mind.
After taking two of three from Kentucky, the Bulldogs won one of three last week at Florida. A 3-3 mark over its past two SEC series may sound better, but Stricklin isn’t looking ahead any further than this weekend.
“If you go to series then, then you try to win another series, and then you start putting yourself into a different conversation,” Stricklin said. “So, getting prepared (Wednesday) for (Thursday) is all that we're focused on.”
This and that
…First baseman Charlie Condon ranks 2nd in the SEC in batting average (.444), total base (120), slugging percentage (.902), and on-base percentage. (.537). He’s tied for first in hits (59), 4th in home runs (17), and RBIs (53) He has reached base safely in 36 games (all but the season opener). He had a 24-game hitting streak (third-best in school history). In the series at No. 2 Florida, he tied a school record with three home runs in a 13-11 win over the Gators.
…Graduate outfielder Connor Tate, who has played in 200 games in his career including 166 starts, ranks second on the club in batting at .369. Tate has hit 12 home runs this season including a pair of grand slams, the most recent a game-tying blast in the 9th inning of a 13-11 win at No. 2 Florida last Friday. Graduate infielder Will David (.307-3-14), junior third baseman/first baseman Parks Harber (.276-11-37), and junior catcher/outfielder Corey Collins (.267-6-20) round out the top offensive threats in the lineup.
…Georgia is batting .290 with 65 home runs, a .387 on-base percentage, and is 19- for-22 in stolen base attempts. Arkansas is batting .291 with 60 home runs, a .406 on-base percentage, and is 33-for-44 in stolen base attempts. Georgia is fielding .980 while the Razorbacks are fielding .978. In four games last week, Georgia fielded .986 with just two errors.