Georgia at Georgia Tech
WHERE: Russ Chandler Stadium, Atlanta
WHEN: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: No. 4 Georgia 21-3; Georgia Tech 16-8
TV/RADIO: (ACC Network); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (David Johnston, Jeff Dantzler)
Georgia catcher Mason Meadows is expected to undergo surgery to repair facial fractures that occurred when he fouled a ball off his face during Sunday’s 9-7 win over LSU, head coach Scott Stricklin told UGASports Monday.
The incident occurred in the second inning of Sunday’s game. During the at-bat, Meadows fouled the ball directly off his face, just below his left eye.
Fortunately, Meadows’ eyeball and vision appear to be OK. However, with surgery now on deck, it’s unclear how long the popular redshirt sophomore will be out.
“When that surgery is, we don’t know because we’re going to have to wait for the swelling to go down,” Stricklin said. “We do feel like he will be back at some point, but when, we don’t know. The timetable is kind of up in the air.”
Stricklin has his fingers crossed.
“From what I’m told, facial fractures heal a little bit faster than others, because of the blood flow in the face. So we’re confident that he’s going to be back at some point. We just don’t know when,” Stricklin said. “A lot of it will depend on when he can have the surgery. Our hope is that he can have the surgery within a week and then start to make a recovery.”
With Meadows out, the Bulldogs will lean on junior Austin Biggar and freshman Shane Marshall to handle the catching duties. Graduate transfer John Cable could also help out in that regard.
“Stephen Wrenn had a facial fracture a few years ago, but he’s playing center field. When you’re in the catcher position, obviously it’s a little more of a high-impact position as far as foul tips, things like that, so we just have to be really aware of that,” Stricklin said. “Fortunately for our team, we’ve got depth with Austin Biggar and Shane Marshall, and also John Cable. So we’ve got depth and can absorb the blow a little bit. But he will be missed. His leadership is crucial to our team, and he’s a big part of it. But we’ve just got to hold the fort down, pick each other up, and Austin Biggar did that this weekend.”
Injuries have been a problem for the Bulldogs (21-3), who moved up to No. 4 and No. 6 in this week’s Top 25 rankings, respectively, by D1Baseball and Baseball American.
Georgia has already been without starting left fielder Tucker Bradley for the year with a shoulder injury, but is also missing first baseman Patrick Sullivan (concussion), along with pitchers Ryan Webb and Will Proctor, both suffering from sore arms.
“It’s been unbelievable. If you'd told me in the fall that our lineup would be like it is now--take Proctor and Webb out the bullpen, and we’d be 5-1 going on the road to South Carolina and LSU--I’d have told you you’re crazy. But our guys, everyone has stepped up,” Stricklin said. “Every guy has been ready to step up when their name has been called. We’ve got big pinch hits, we’ve got guys, replacements, you name it. Guys have done a great job of circling the wagons and picking each other up.”
Stricklin hopes to have both Webb and Proctor back for Georgia’s next home SEC series April 5-7 against Vanderbilt.
Webb is slated to start throwing today, with Proctor to do so on Wednesday. As for Sullivan, Stricklin hopes he’s about to turn the corner.
“We’re waiting to see how he feels after class today, because that’s really been, the baseball stuff he’s been OK with, the batting practice, ground balls and pop ups, he’s been fine with that,” Stricklin said. “It’s been sitting down in the classroom with the lights, the focus, the concentration and reading--that stuff has bothered him some. It’s just the bumps and little things you have to get over with a concussion is not all the same, and that’s the scary thing, because there’s a lot of things that you have to be cautious of. But we’re optimistic to get him back. We feel we may get him back this weekend. We don’t know for sure, but he will be back soon, so as banged-up as we are, we’re pretty close to being healthy.”
However, Tuesday night’s game at Georgia Tech (7 p.m.) could be interesting.
With the arms the Bulldogs were forced to use over the weekend against LSU, and the fact the team’s series this week at Kentucky gets underway on Thursday, Stricklin will have to lean on some of its lesser-used relievers should the need arise against the Yellow Jackets.
“Tim Elliott will have to give us a good start, and some guys who haven’t pitched as much will have to pitch. Because we asked a lot of the guys in the bullpen, especially last Saturday and Sunday.
The normal guys who have been coming out of the bullpen may not be available tomorrow, so we’ll have to find a way to have more guys step up,” Stricklin said. “But we’ve done that all year long. You’re going to see some other guys pitch. But hey, that’s why they’re here, they’re here for a reason. They’re good pitchers, we’ll just have to keep playing good defense and come up with some hits.”
