SEC Tourney News and Notes: Bulldogs not feeling any pressure

SEC Tournament: Georgia vs LSU

WHERE: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala.

WHEN: Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. ET

RECORDS: 6th-seed Georgia (39-14); 11th seed LSU 36-20

TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Dave Neal and Lance Cormier); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston)

WHATS NEXT: The winner will advance to Wednesday’s double-elimination round against Kentucky. The loser will be eliminated from the SEC Tourney.

HOOVER, Alabama – As Georgia prepares for Tuesday morning’s 9:30 first pitch against LSU in the elimination round of the SEC Tournament, skipper Wes Johnson acknowledges there’s not as much pressure on his Bulldogs as there might ordinarily be.

At 39-14, Georgia knows it will be one of the 64 teams in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Experts also agree the Bulldogs will be one of the 16 regional hosts.

So, does that take a little of the pressure off Georgia in its game against the defending national champs?

“A little bit,” Johnson told UGASports after Monday evening’s workout at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

“I’d be lying I said it didn’t. It’s like I told our guys. I just want us to play well and continue to get better,” Johnson said. “I want to take it one pitch at a time, continue to get our approach really good, and continue to not chase as much.”

Johnson’s message to his pitchers is also crystal clear.

“We have to pound the strike zone with quality pitches. They’re (LSU) physical. Obviously, I know a lot of their guys. They can swing it if you miss in the heart of the plate,” Johnson said. “They got hot last weekend, and swept an Ole Miss team. We’ve just got to pitch and play defense.”

Johnson hopes the message has been received.

After Georgia relievers imploded during the fourth inning of Saturday’s 19-11 loss to Florida, it better be.

“There’s some underlying things. But again, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t disappointed and I told our guys that,” Johnson said. “

We got back on the horse we’re trying to do some things differently and between talking to some of them yesterday and the work we got in today.”

Johnson had not decided on a starter during his interview with UGASports.

One candidate is sophomore left-hander Jarvis Evans (3-1, 5.00). Evans did not pitch last weekend against Florida.

Normal weekend starters Kolten Smith, Leighton Finley, and Zach Harris will not be used as the three will be kept on regular rest. The earliest Smith can be expected to pitch in Thursday, with Finley on Friday if the Bulldogs are still alive.

Per Johnson, every pitcher on the staff will need to be ready.

“That was the message today. Look man, there will be some guys to get an opportunity tomorrow,” Johnson said. “We’re working down that food chain so to speak. Go out there, be so good that I can’t ignore you, and go from there.”

The SEC will use a double first base on an experimental basis throughout the SEC Tourney.

According to the league office, the purpose is to reduce collisions between the defense and the batter/runner at first base.

It’s been used in non-conference games this year, but none involving the Bulldogs.

“I was one of the guys when asked, I said let’s give it a try,” Johnson said. “There’s been some bad, bad injuries with players over my time in this game in college. I’m a fan of it. But that’s one of the reasons we came over, I wanted our guys to get a feel for it.”

Guidelines for using the double first base include:

…A bounding ball over the white portion of the bag is a fair ball. A batted ball hitting or bounding over the colored (orange or green) bag without first touching or bounding over the white section is foul.

…When an initial play is being made on the batter-runner at first base, the defense must use the white section of the double base and the batter-runner must use the colored base except in the case of a dropped third strike. After a dropped third strike, if the fielder is drawn to the side of the colored base, the runner would go the white base and the fielder to the colored base. On a dropped third strike, the fielder and batter-runner may touch either of the white or colored base.

…If there is a play on the batter-runner and the batter-runner touches only the white portion of the double base and the defense appeals prior to the batter-runner returning to first base, it is treated the same as missing the base. Penalty: Batter-runner is out.

…On extra-base hits or other balls hit to the outfield when there is no chance for a play to be made at the double base, the batter-runner may touch either the white or colored section of the base. Should the batter-runner reach and go beyond first base, they may only return to the white section of the base.

…Once the batter reaches first base, they can only use the white base.

…The Bulldogs rank third nationally with a school record 140 home runs. Also, this year’s squad has hit a school record 11 grand slams. Georgia is third nationally with a .605 slugging percentage and fourth in on-base percentage at .438. The Bulldogs are batting .307 with a 5.58 team ERA and a .973 fielding percentage. Georgia has posted double-digit runs in seven of its past nine SEC games.

…Top Hitters To Watch: The Bulldog offense is headlined by redshirt sophomore All-America Charlie Condon. The potential top draft pick in 2024, he leads the NCAA with a .451 batting average, a school record 35 home runs (2nd in SEC history and most in the BBCOR era), 219 total bases, and a 1.063 SLG%. He has a .567 OB% (third nationally) with 50 walks (23 intentional) and 75 RBI. He has a team-best 24-game hitting streak, which matches his longest last year. Condon has smashed a school record 60 career home runs in only 109 games. Senior Corey Collins is enjoying a fine year at .361-18-52 while ranking second in the country with a .586 OB%. He ranks fifth nationally with an SEC-leading and school-record 25 HBP this year. Freshman Tre Phelps checks in at .370-9-33.

…Top Pitchers To Watch: Georgia’s top starting pitchers of late have been sophomore right-hander Leighton Finley (5-1, 4.18 ERA, 69 strikeouts, 24 walks, 64.2 innings pitched) and sophomore right-hander Kolten Smith (9-2, 4.40 ERA, 94 strikeouts, 13 walks, 61.1 inning’s pitched) while graduate left-hander Charlie Goldstein (4-1, 3.72 ERA, 43 strikeouts, 13 walks, 36.1 innings pitched) has pitched just 7.2 innings since beating then No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville on March 29. His last action came against No. 13 Vanderbilt on May 4 but he left after 2.2 scoreless innings due to a triceps cramp. Georgia’s starter for the SEC Tournament opener is TBA.

…SEC Tournament History: Georgia, the No. 6 seed, will be making its 29th appearance at the SEC Tournament where the Bulldogs are 31-50. Georgia’s best finish has been second (1985, 1986, 1989). The Bulldogs went 1-2 in 2021 but have lost their opener the past two years. Georgia opens with LSU (36-20, 13-17 SEC) who it did not play during the regular season (along with Auburn and Arkansas). Georgia went 15-12 against the 2024 SEC Tournament field. LSU holds a 72-26-2 edge over Georgia in the all-time series that dates to 1975 including 9-3 in SEC Tournament matchups. The last SEC Tournament meeting came in 2021, and the Bulldogs won 4-1. If Georgia beats the Tigers, the Bulldogs face SEC Co-Champion Kentucky (39-12, 22-8 SEC) on Wednesday at 10:30 am ET. The Wildcats swept Georgia in Lexington to open league play. Georgia is 3-2 against the Wildcats when meeting in the SEC Tournament.

…Georgia worked out in Athens for two hours before the four-hour drive to Hoover. Once at the Hoover Met, the Bulldogs held a one-hour walkthrough.

“As you saw, it wasn’t too taxing We hit for about two hours in Athens. We actually started practicing at 9 this morning, went from 9 to 11, ate at the field, and got on the bus,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to let them move around after a four-hour bus ride. They’re 18-23 year old men; they’re not going to go back and go to sleep. We just wanted to get them a little more tired so they can go to sleep.”