ATHENS — Georgia and Tennessee will open Southeastern Conference play on Friday in a top 10 showdown at Foley Field.
First pitch is set for 6:02 p.m. and then the Saturday and Sunday games will begin at 1:02 p.m. The entire series will be available on SEC Network+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Georgia (13-3) went 4-0 last week and allowed just four runs in four games to lower its ERA to 2.35, which ranks second in the SEC. Against Lipscomb, Georgia tossed 26 consecutive scoreless innings before allowing a pair of runs in the ninth on Sunday. The Bulldogs lead the SEC in Fielding at .986 and did not make an error last week. Georgia is batting .300 as a team which ranks fifth in the SEC. The Bulldogs remained ranked No. 7 according to Collegiate Baseball’s Top 30 weekly poll.
The Volunteers (15-3) are ranked as high as No. 10 (USA Today/Coaches poll). UT is batting .273 with a 3.13 ERA and a .974 fielding percentage. This marks the first time since 2016 that Georgia will open up SEC play at home. The previous four years, Georgia began league play at LSU (2017), Alabama (2018), South Carolina (2019) and were headed to Florida (2020) last season when the campaign was canceled.
Pitching Matchups:
Friday: UGA: Luke Wagner (3-0, 0.71, LHP, Fr.) vs. UT: Chad Dallas (2-0, 3.24, RHP, Jr.)
Saturday: UGA: Ryan Webb (2-0, 0.00, LHP, Sr.) vs. UT: Will Heflin (2-1, 4.50, LHP, Sr.)
Sunday: UGA: Jonathan Cannon (1-0, 0.00, RHP, So.) vs. UT: Blade Tidwell (2-1, 1.80, RHP, Fr.)
Georgia’s SEC rotation will be freshman LHP Luke Wagner (3-0, 0.71), senior LHP Ryan Webb (2-0, 0.00) and sophomore RHP Jonathan Cannon (1-0, 0.00). Webb and Cannon had a delayed start to their 2021 season due to illness and have been on pitch counts. Cannon is the only right-hander to start for Georgia this year as the Bulldogs first 12 games and 14 total have featured all left-handed starting pitchers!
DID YOU KNOW? Georgia and Vanderbilt have the best combined SEC Record the past two conference seasons at 39-21 (2018-2019). The 2020 SEC season was canceled due to the ongoing pandemic. Georgia finished 2nd in the East in both of those years (18-12 in 2018, 21-9 in 2019). The Bulldogs are picked to finish fifth in the SEC this year by the league coaches. UT leads the all-time series 122-118 as it dates back to 1909. Georgia is 11-7 versus UT under Ike Cousins Head Coach Scott Stricklin. The home team has won the last two series two games to one.
Bulldog newcomer Corey Collins enjoyed a stellar week, batting .444 (8-for-18) with two doubles, two home runs and nine RBI to earn SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors from the league Monday. The 6-3, 234-pound designated hitter/catcher leads the team with four home runs and 16 RBI while batting .364. He has started all 16 games this year.
Redshirt junior OF Connor Tate leads the team and ranks third in the SEC in batting at .410 (25-for-61) with a double, triple, two home runs and 13 RBI. On Sunday, he provided a walk-off RBI-single with two outs in the 12th to cap a sweep of Lipscomb. Nine of his 13 RBI have come with two outs. In four games last week, Tate batted .438 (7-for-16) with a home run and three RBI. Junior C/RHP Shane Marshall ranks second on the club in batting at .400. He has a five-game hitting streak.
