Georgia at Texas A&M
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 15-5, 1-2; Texas A&M 15-8, 0-3
STARTING PITCHERS: Friday: Georgia – Luke Wagner (3-1, 1.17) vs Texas A&M - (Dustin Seanz (3-2, 3.07; Saturday: Georgia – Ryan Webb (2-0, 0.52) vs Texas A&M – Bryce Muller (2-0, 2.49); Sunday: Jonathan Cannon (1-1, 1.86) vs Jonathan Childress (2-2, 1.98)
TV/RADIO: Friday (SEC Network; Sam Ravech, Todd Walker); Saturday-Sunday (SEC Network+); Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston).
There’s good news and bad news on the injury front for Georgia, which begins a three-game series Friday night at Texas A&M.
First the good news.
Thursday, assistant head coach Scott Daeley revealed that designated hitter Corey Collins (hamstring) will be available for the first time in four games. The bad news: junior pitcher C.J. Smith (sore arm) will not be available for several weeks.
“Hope to get him back late in the year, as long as he can put up with the discomfort. But it’s something that’s keeping him from throwing,” Daeley said. “He’s a couple of weeks away from helping us.”
Luke Wagner (3-1, 1.17), who struggled in last week’s SEC opener against Tennessee, will once again get the call on Friday night (7 p.m., SEC Network).
“There’s some stuff that Coach (Sean) Kenny and he worked on. The first couple of starts, he did well,” Daeley said. “The last one wasn’t great, but they were able to pick up some stuff on video that looked different in that start that he wasn’t doing earlier.”
Wagner responded in last Tuesday’s come-from-behind win over Kennesaw State with 1.1 scoreless innings.
“He looked comfortable in this last outing on Tuesday; his presence looked good. I think the biggest thing for these young guys is realizing their stuff is good enough to get guys out in this league,” Daeley said. “I think for him getting a chance to sit down and seeing those next two games and realize that maybe these guys aren’t as great as I gave them credit for, and maybe my stuff plays, I think really helps a young guy like him.”
Getting Collins’ bat back in the lineup should help.
At least that’s the hope. Despite missing three games, the former North Gwinnett standout still leads the Bulldogs in batting (.368), home runs (four), and RBIs (16).
“Should be able to go this weekend. I don’t think you’ll see him try to stretch a single into a double, and we might have to make moves if he’s on base late in a game; we may have to pinch-run for him,” Daeley said. “He’s not full-go, and we don’t want to ask him to go full- go. I don’t want to be put in the position of him needing to score in a big spot, and he reinjures it. So, I think he'll be able to go as long as things keep moving the way they’re doing. He'll be able to go, but it won’t be 100 percent.”
