ATHENS — Fourth-ranked Georgia plays the rubber game of its series with No. 11 Georgia Tech Tuesday at SunTrust Park in Atlanta to benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA).
The Bulldogs (33-8) have won seven of the past eight games against Tech (27-13) and are 11-5 overall against Tech under Ike Cousins head coach Scott Stricklin. First pitch will be at 7 p.m. and be available via ACC Network Extra and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. Both teams won on their campus earlier this year (Georgia 12-2 on April 9; Tech 11-2 on March 26).
Georgia holds an 11-5 edge in the neutral site meetings including 2-0 at SunTrust Park, winning 8-7 in 2017 in front of 23,737 and 3-1 in 2018 in front of 17,741. Ticket sales for the annual game for CHOA average more than 20,000.
Currently, the Bulldogs lead the nation in wins. Georgia is winning with pitching, defense and timely hitting. The Bulldogs own an NCAA-leading 2.57 ERA and a .982 fielding percentage (3rd nationally), and those are on pace to be school records. Georgia’s record for lowest ERA in a season is 2.97 by the 1958 club and the next best is 3.26 by the 1967 squad. Last year, the Bulldogs set the fielding mark at .979. Georgia is batting .266 with a .376 on-base percentage. Opponents are batting only .182 against the Bulldogs. Also, Georgia leads the nation in Fewest Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (5.70) and WHIP (1.04).
Junior RHP Tim Elliott (5-1, 1.52 ERA) will start versus Tech for the third time this season. He is 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA against the Yellow Jackets this year. In 11.1 IP he has allowed 4R, 3ER, 7H, 5BB and 13 K. Tech will counter with freshman right-hander Cort Roedig (1-1, 4.05 ERA). He will be making his fifth start of the year.
Bulldog senior 2B LJ Talley continues to lead the team in batting at .349-6-30. Junior CF Tucker Maxwell leads the club with eight home runs and ranks among the SEC leaders in stolen bases with a team-best 19 out of 21 attempts. Georgia’s RBI leader with 34 is sophomore OF Riley King (.304-5-34). In SEC action, Aaron Schunk (.340-6-29) is batting a team-high .361 along with a 1-1 mark, 3.60 ERA and four saves. Graduate designated hitter John Cable is batting 259 with three home runs and 16 RBI in league play.
TELEVISION/RADIO
TV: ACC Network Extra, 7 pm
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network from IMG College (David Johnston & Jeff Dantzler)
Additional Coverage on Twitter: @BaseballUGA
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