Georgia at Missouri

WHERE: Taylor Stadium, Columbia, Mo.

WHEN: Friday 5 p.m., Saturday 5 p.m, Sunday 2 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia 24-12, 7-8; Missouri 11-23, 4-11

STARTING PITCHERS: Friday - Ryan Webb (2-2, 2.83) vs Seth Halvorsen (3-2, 7.07); Saturday - Jonathan Cannon (2-2, 4.06) vs Spencer Miles (1-6, 7.57); Sunday - TBA vs Zach Hise (0-5, 6.27)

TV/RADIO: Friday and Sunday (SECNetwork+); Saturday - SEC Network; Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston)

Josh McAllister smiled and confessed he’s typically not for pimping home runs. Tuesday night against Clemson he made an exception.

It’s understandable. Home runs that travel 437 feet deserve a little look, which is exactly what McAllister did after his blast well over the fence in left highlighted a three-run fifth inning against the Tigers. A little bit of a bat flip for good measure was the icing on his cake.

“I don’t usually know when I hit them, because I don’t hit them that often,” McAllister said. “But I knew I got that one. I wanted to finish up with the flip, so I said, 'Why not, let’s do it.'”

Teammate Ryan Webb laughed that he was watching the ball and didn’t notice the flip, but agreed that the effort deserved props.

“I saw where the bat ended up, so I assumed it was probably a pretty legit bat flip,” Webb said. “He’s one of those guys that loves showing emotion. He’s a very fiery, flashy player. He just does things the right way.”

The Bulldogs (24-12, 7-8) certainly have no complaints.

As Georgia continues SEC play this weekend at Missouri, McAllister has been one of the team’s bigger surprises. A platoon player to start the year with Buddy Floyd at second base, McAllister has forced his way into the lineup by batting .364 with six home runs and 17 RBIs.

Head coach Scott Stricklin admits the offensive surge was unexpected.

“We didn’t by any stretch expect this,” Stricklin said. “We knew he was a good player, but he was platooning at the beginning of the season with Buddy Floyd. The message to both those guys was, you’re going to play early, and someone's going to win the job. Obviously, Josh has won it and played extremely well.”

A deeper dive into McAllister’s numbers show just how effective he’s been.

Although he’s walked only five times in 93 at-bats, he’s also the best on the team at making contact. With just one strikeout in every 10.3 at-bats, McAllister knows how to get on base.

“It’s just about getting my foot down. I just kind of rock back and forth, put my foot down, and swing,” said McAllister, who noted that simple step has enabled him to become a better fastball hitter.

“He’s really aggressive, he isn’t going to walk much. He’s not going to get to two strikes much. Everyone knows that; it’s out on him, but he’s got really good vision. He sees the ball really well. He doesn't swing at a lot of bad pitches. You hang a breaking ball, and he’s going to hit it a long way,” Stricklin said. “He steps in the bucket a little bit. When you watch, he steps a little toward third base, and people think they can throw him breaking balls. But he stays in there really well. He’s a natural hitter, he’s got bat speed and strength, he’s a tough hitter and has the mentality that you want in the lineup.”

He’s also one Stricklin wants to lead off.

After primarily hitting second and third, McAllister was handed the leadoff role for last Saturday’s game against Kentucky with Ben Anderson moving to the ninth spot in the order.

The result? Georgia has won three straight, scoring eight, 14, and eight runs in victories over the Wildcats and Clemson.

“If you’re not getting leadoff guys on, you’re looking at an offense that’s not going to score much. I think that’s a lot of what you saw from us those first few weeks of the SEC. We weren’t getting a lot of leadoff guys on,” Stricklin said. “I wouldn’t be shocked if you start seeing some first-pitch-of-the-game breaking balls, because he’s so aggressive and has that power. It just puts more pressure on that pitcher.”

McAllister is taking his success in stride.

A redshirt during last year’s Covid-shortened season, McAllister—whose father Chris once worked in the UGA Athletic Department—played two years for Florida Southwestern State before matriculating to Athens.

“Coming in last season and last fall, I just wanted to do my best. I thought I was going to be this super-utility guy, maybe a defensive replacement guy,” McAllister, whose teammates nicknamed him the Juco Bandit. “I thought Buddy had a good fall and had earned the spot. He makes me better every day. I’ve got to be on my A-game, so I love having Buddy either playing right next to me or playing behind me, because if I’m not on the ball every day, he’s going to make me look bad.”

Winners of two straight SEC series, Georgia has a chance to inch further up the standings with a strong showing this weekend at Missouri.

The Tigers are 11-23 overall, 4-8 in the SEC, while the Bulldogs come in winners of three straight.

With the second half of the conference schedule starting this weekend, Georgia (24-12, 7-8) is sitting in a favorable position as far as making the SEC Tournament and earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament is concerned.

The Bulldogs, with an RPI of 21, still have to face the likes of No. 18 Florida, top-ranked Arkansas, Auburn, and No. 12 Ole Miss.

“There’s no question we’re playing better baseball. Going into Vanderbilt, you could say we were limping into that series,” Stricklin said. “We'd lost three straight series in the conference, had lost a really tough game to Georgia Southern, 2-1; we got four hits, just didn’t play very well. To Georgia Southern’s credit, they shut us down. But that was a game we felt like we could and should have won, but didn’t.”

Taking two of three from Vanderbilt in Nashville was just the elixir needed to shake the team from its doldrums.

“Going into the No. 1 team in the country, we were not playing very good baseball, and we turned it around. Our guys answered the bell; they felt a little bit disrespected. We challenged them as coaches, and they answered the bell and played really well that weekend. I think that proved to everybody that we could be a pretty good team, and we’ve played well since then,” Stricklin said. “Hopefully, that’s the turning point to continue being consistent and playing good baseball. We’re certainly better than we were five or six weeks ago.”

After hitting the proverbial freshman wall, Corey Collins, Parks Harber, and Fernando Gonzalez are starting to once again reach their stride.

Since the series at Vanderbilt, Harber is 4-for-8 with a pair of RBI, while Collins, who launched a titanic 441-foot home run against Clemson, has been a monster.

Over the last five games, the left-handed slugger is 8 for 19 with five runs scored, two home runs, and seven RBI.

“Corey Collins (.333-7-29) went through a funk there for two or three weeks, when he just was struggling, and like a lot of hitters, Vanderbilt was kind of our coming-out party,” Stricklin said of Collins, who had hits in all three games against the Commodores with a home run and four RBIs.

“Since then, he’s hit several home runs,” Stricklin said. “Then you see Parks Harber, he doesn’t get the start against Clemson, but comes off the bench and gets two hits, including the game-winner.”

The fact Gonzalez now appears to be on track is an added bonus.

After missing a handful of games, Gonzalez enjoyed the best game of his young career, going 3-for-5 with his first career home run and four RBIs in Sunday’s win over Kentucky.

“For Fernando, the game has slowed down for him. We knew it would,” Stricklin said. “He’s such a mature player, but early on, like most freshmen, he was a little bit sped up and didn’t look as comfortable as we knew he was going to be. But now you’re starting to see that. The game has slowed down for him, and he’s playing extremely well.”

Stricklin said the nine freshmen pitchers he’s used have also begun to mature.

“Those guys have all had success, and they’ve all had some failures, too, which is a good thing,” he said. “They’ve all had to overcome that, so those freshmen are slowly turning into sophomores.”

…The Bulldogs (24-12, 7-8 SEC) have won six of their last eight games including the past two SEC series. During this stretch, Georgia is averaging 8.6 runs a game while batting .323 (93-for-288) with 18 doubles and 17 home runs. The Tigers (11-23, 4-11 SEC) played nationally-ranked Florida close in Gainesville last weekend, ultimately dropping all three, but a pair were two-run contests. Georgia leads the all-time series over the Tigers 12-9. The teams first met when Missouri joined the SEC in 2013. The Bulldogs have swept the past two series.

…Last weekend, the Bulldogs claimed a home series over Kentucky. This past Sunday, Georgia exploded for 18 hits to win the rubber game of the series 17-6 against the Wildcats. Connor Tate (.369-8-25) leads the club in batting and has reached base safely in 16 straight contests. He ranks in the top 10 in the SEC in batting, hits, and total bases. Tate and graduate Riley King are riding eight-game hitting streaks. The longest current hitting streak belongs to Collins (.308-7-29) at 10 games.

…McAllister (.364-6-17) is batting .370 in SEC action, while senior INF Garrett Blaylock (.297-7-19) checks in with an impressive .452 league average and a 1.000 slugging percentage. Blaylock is 14-for-31 in SEC games with five doubles and four home runs.