WHEN: Friday-Sunday
WHERE: Swayze Field, Oxford, Miss.
RECORDS: Georgia 23-18, 7-11; Ole Miss 21-20, 3-15
STARTING PITCHERS: Friday – RH Kolten Smith (2-1, 4.74) vs. LH Xavier Rivas 5-3, 5.84); Saturday – LH Charlie Goldstein (2-1, 4.64) vs RH JT Quinn (3-0, 5.48); Sunday – LH Liam Sullivan (4-2, 4.37) vs TBA
TV/RADIO: SEC Network+ (Jake Hromada and Matt McLaughlin); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston)
Sweep of Arkansas changes talking point for Bulldogs
Before sweeping No. 5 Arkansas last weekend in Athens, not a lot of people were pegging Georgia for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Suddenly, that doesn’t seem like such a stretch after all.
Although the Bulldogs (23-18, 7-11) still have work to do, there’s suddenly an opportunity for Georgia to make it happen, providing it finishes the season strong.
With last week’s sweep, Scott Stricklin’s squad went from having the next-to-worst record in conference play to suddenly having a record better than three other squads and just two games behind Alabama and Texas A&M, currently tied for seventh in the league.
DI-Baseball’s weekly NCAA projections had Georgia as one of the last five teams in the field for the tournament. With four weeks left in the regular season, the Bulldogs face three teams (Ole Miss this weekend, Tennessee, and Missouri) with losing conference marks before wrapping up against No. 1 LSU at Foley Field.
But before anyone gets too excited, junior first baseman Parks Harber said the team’s focus only needs to be on this week’s opponent Ole Miss (21-20, 3-15), which hosts Georgia in a three-game set beginning Friday night.
“I think whenever you sweep a top-five team at home, it's huge just for everybody, regardless of where you are in the standings,” Harber said. “It really kind of catapulted us into it, into a much better conversation. But now it's up to us to stay in that conversation.”
To do that, the Bulldogs need to win series, starting this weekend before returning home next week against Tennessee. Last year, Ole Miss qualified for the tournament with a league mark of 13-17 before going on to win the College World Series.
“Now, all of a sudden, the conversation has changed. It’s gone from what can we salvage to what can we do,” Stricklin said. “We still have every opportunity to be a postseason team, and the way you do that is to continue to win series. You win series, then we’ll be in the postseason. This weekend, we start over, win another series and you put yourself in a better position to be a postseason team.”
Injury update
Pitcher Jaden Woods (arm fatigue) traveled to Oxford for this weekend’s series, although it’s unclear if either will play.
Woods missed his turn in the rotation last week against Arkansas.
“It would be in relief, for sure, if he did pitch, and probably on Sunday just to give him as much time as possible,” Stricklin said. “My gut is he’s probably a no for this weekend and get ready for next weekend, but he did feel better throwing (Tuesday), so we’ll see how he feels. We certainly don’t want to push it, but he’s very honest, he’ll tell us how he’s feeling.”
Stricklin also said catcher/designated hitter Corey Collins (wrist) continues to recover from a wrist injury, although he’s more than likely a week away from playing.
This and that
… The Bulldogs have a 6.32 ERA with 386 strikeouts and 205 walks. Opponents are batting .265. The Rebels sport a 5.52 ERA with 395 strikeouts and 188 walks. Opponents are hitting .252 against Ole Miss.
… For the second straight SEC series, the rotation will feature freshman RHP Kolten Smith (2-1, 4.74) and juniors LHP Charlie Goldstein (2-1, 4.64) and Liam Sullivan (4-2, 4.37).
… Georgia is batting .290 with 77 home runs, a .389 OB% and is 21-for-24 in stolen base attempts. Redshirt freshman 1B/OF Charlie Condon (.416-18-55) and graduate OF Connor Tate (.364-13-44) and junior 3B/1B Parks Harber (.281-14-43) headline the offense. Ole Miss is batting .287 with 62 home runs, a .381 OB% and is 34-for-42 in stolen base attempts. The Rebels leading hitters are juniors OF Kemp Alderman (.360-17-55), C Calvin Harris (.344-6-30) and SS Jacob Gonzalez (.322-7-37).
… Georgia and Ole Miss lead the SEC and rank in the top 10 nationally in fielding at .981.
