ATHENS, Ga. — Top-ranked Georgia returns to SEC action against 23rd-ranked Alabama on the road Friday night.
In year two under head baseball coach Wes Johnson, the Bulldogs (39-11, 15-9 SEC) have been a consensus top 10-ranked team all season and are as high as No. 1 (Baseball America, Perfect Game) in a pair of polls this week. The Bulldogs, who rank No. 2 in RPI by the NCAA, are 27-3 at home, 9-8 on the road, and 3-0 at neutral sites this season. UA enters the series 37-12 overall and 13-11 in the SEC.
In the series history, Georgia holds an 80-74-2 edge over Alabama in games dating back to 1904. The Bulldogs swept the Crimson Tide last year in Athens and claimed the last series in Tuscaloosa (2-1 in 2022). Georgia did not have any midweek games, while Alabama posted a 10-2 road win over No. 19 Troy.
The Bulldogs are batting .287 with a .562 slugging percentage and an NCAA-leading 119 home runs. The team's leading hitters are Ryland Zaborowski (.372-16-58, .822 SLG%), Slate Alford (.338-15-55) and Robbie Burnett (.315, SEC-leading 19 home runs plus 61 RBI). Due to an elbow injury, Zaborowski has missed the past four games.
Burnett is on pace to become the first Bulldog since first-rounder Gordon Beckham (Chicago White Sox) in 2008 to lead the team with double-digit home runs and stolen bases. Beckham had an NCAA-best 28 home runs and 17 stolen bases, leading Georgia to the CWS Finals.
Alford, a senior native of Madison, Ala., is the team's top hitter in SEC action at .340-9-20. Alford has a team-best 33-game on-base streak and has reached base in 49 of 50 games this season. He is one of two Bulldogs (Kolby Branch-SS) who have started all 50 games this year.
The Crimson Tide is batting .289 with a .504 slugging percentage and 82 home runs. The leading hitters for the Crimson Tide are Kade Snell (.394-9-44), Richie Bonomolo Jr. (.326-6-41, 15 SB) and Justin Lebron (.309-16-62, 14 SB). Snell went 4-for-5 with five RBI in the win over Troy.
The Bulldogs have posted a 4.72 ERA with 522 strikeouts and 220 walks. Opponents are batting .227 against Georgia. Last week, the pitching staff posted an SEC-best 1.75 ERA, going 4-0 and allowing just seven earned runs in that stretch. UA has a 4.74 ERA with 447 strikeouts and 186 walks this season. Opponents are batting .253 against UA with 45 home runs.
Georgia's fielding percentage is among the nation's best at .982, while Alabama is fielding .978.
UGA-UA Pitching Matchups
Fri.: Brian Curley (3-2, 2.96 ERA), Jr., RHP vs. TBA
Sat.: TBA vs. TBA
Sun.: Leighton Finley (2-1, 4.82 ERA), Jr., RHP vs. TBA
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