WHERE: Charles Hawkins Field, Nashville, Tenn.

WHEN: Thursday 7 p.m., Friday 7:30 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia 18-10, 3-6; Vanderbilt 24-3, 8-1

STARTING PITCHERS: Thursday – Luke Wagner (3-2, 2.95) vs. Kumar Rocker (7-0, 0.84); Friday – Ryan Webb (2-1, 3.14) vs Jack Leiter (7-0, 0.43); Sunday – Jonathan Cannon (1-2, 4.58) vs TBA

TV/RADIO: Thursday – SEC Network (Dave Neal and Kyle Peterson); Friday – SEC Network+; Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston)

Considering Georgia is coming off a 2-1 loss to Georgia Southern, where the Bulldogs scraped together just four hits, getting the bats back on track against No. 1 Vanderbilt would seem like a tall task.

If you’ve followed college baseball at all, then you know the Commodores (24-3) boast two pitchers who very likely could go 1-2 in the upcoming Major League draft in Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter.

Their numbers are mind boggling

In seven games, Rocker has allowed just four earned runs in 43 innings, with 12 walks and 61 strikeouts. Opponents are batting just .137 against him.

Leiter—the son of former Major Leaguer and MLB Network analyst Al Leiter—has been even better. In 42 innings, Leiter has allowed just 10 hits, two earned runs, and 16 walks, with 71 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just 0.74. Not surprisingly, both pitchers are 7-0.

Bulldog shortstop Cole Tate is familiar enough with Rocker, considering both played their high school ball in nearby Oconee County. Tate played with Oconee County High and Rocker with North Oconee.

“My senior year, he pitched against us his junior year,” Tate said. “He’s got a good arm, but I think we’re going to be ready to hit him.”

Yes, that might be easier than done.

However, according to head coach Scott Stricklin, the last thing his Bulldogs can afford to do is go into the series afraid.

That, he said, will not happen.

“Our kids are resilient. We’ll jump on the bus and go practice in Nashville and get ready to go to war. That’s the only thing we can do,” Stricklin said. “That’s what I told them (Tuesday night after the game) in right field. We’re going to be ready to play this weekend, we’re going to fight like crazy and do everything we can to try and win this series.”

Tate agreed.

“The key is just do the same as you’ve always done. Don’t try and change anything,” Tate said. “Yeah, we’re playing Vanderbilt this weekend. We’ve just got to keep our heads up and be ready to fight.”

Freshman Luke Wagner (3-2, 2.95) gets the challenge of facing Rocker, with senior lefty Ryan Webb (2-1, 3.14) facing off against Leiter Saturday night. Jonathan Cannon (1-2, 4-58) will face off against a yet-to-be-named pitcher. Vanderbilt leads the SEC in ERA with a 2.24.

“There are no secrets now. There’s plenty of video. Our players will be watching film of Kumar, of Leiter, (Thomas) Schultz, their relief pitchers. It won’t be like they haven’t seen them before,” Stricklin said. “We’ll put them in situations that we expect to see, things we've seen on film and get them prepared. Then, it’s time to go. We’ll do everything we can to get them prepared, but when they get on the field, they’ve got to fight like crazy to try and win that series.”

…Stricklin said that junior second baseman Josh McAllister (hamstring) traveled with the team to Nashville and is expected to play. That’s certainly good news for the Bulldogs, as McAllister leads Georgia in batting .362 with five home runs and 13 RBIs. He had to leave last Friday’s South Carolina game with a pulled hamstring. It's the second time this year the injury has flared up. He ranks fourth in SEC action with a .400 batting average (12-for-30) and a .700 slugging percentage. Earlier this year, he had a 17-game on-base streak. The Georgia native played his first two seasons at Florida Southwestern State and received scant interest from teams before joining the Bulldogs in 2020 when he was redshirted.

…Georgia is batting .273 with a .347 OB percent. The team ERA is 3.36 and fielding .980. The Commodores are batting .316 with a .420 on-base percentage. Vanderbilt’s team ERA is 2.31 and fielding .975.

…Redshirt junior outfielder Connor Tate (.358-5-17) ranks among the SEC leaders in batting and hits (38-for-106). He saw his career-best seven-game hitting streak end this past Tuesday versus Ga. Southern. Against No. 8 South Carolina, he hit a pair of home runs while batting .444 in the series.

Redshirt junior right-hander Darryn Pasqua (1-1, 2.21 ERA, 1 SV) has been one of the team’s most consistent relievers. In 12 appearances spanning 20.1 innings, he has 26 strikeouts and zero walks. Pasqua focused on his engineering studies as a freshman in 2018 before earning a spot on the team as a walk-on in 2019.