Georgia baseball is on fire

The real Georgia baseball team will stand up this weekend when national number four ranked Vanderbilt comes to sold out Foley Field.

The number seven ranked Georgia baseball Dawgs are on fire. But are these Dawgs for real? Georgia beat number 19 Clemson in Clemson Tuesday, and won two of three from number 12 ranked LSU two weekends ago. However, Georgia’s other SEC wins came against one of the weakest South Carolina teams of this century and a Kentucky team that is now 1- 8 in SEC play, so the picture is cloudy.

The Dawgs will know exactly what they are, and what they must do, after this weekend’s series against number four Vanderbilt.

Injuries break the Dawgs

Not only are the Dawgs 25-5, they are 10-3 on the road. Georgia earned its 7-2 SEC record the hard way, fighting through injuries to both position players and front line pitchers.

Against Georgia Tech last week, however, the injuries finally brought the Dawgs to the breaking point. Left fielder Tucker Bradley is gone for the season, first baseman Patrick Sullivan is under concussion protocol, and catcher Mason Meadows is out for at least four weeks.

Georgia baseball has been without pitchers Ryan Webb and Will Proctor several weeks as well, and with the roster decimated, the Dawgs succumbed to Georgia Tech in Atlanta 11 – 2.

“It’s been tough; little by little it’s trickled in,” Stricklin told Chip Towers of the AJC’s Dawgnation of the injuries. “For us to be 5-1 (in the SEC) right now as beat up as we are, I’m certainly pleased. But I’m looking forward to getting healthier.”

Next pitcher up

Aside from the next man stepping, Georgia baseball needs to find more pitchers and get more innings from it’s starters.

It’s not like Georgia baseball is pitching poor. The strength of this Georgia team is on the mound, but with Webb and Proctor out, the second tier of pitchers has struggled. Who will step up from that group remains to be seen.

“We need that second wave of relievers to take that next step,” Georgia pitching coach Sean Kenny told Myan Patel. “We’re going to need them as the season goes on. That group that struggled last night is going to have to help us win some games coming up.”

Georgia baseball extends its starters

Expect Georgia starting pitchers to take more innings, also. “They’re going to have to extend,” Kenny said. “We were lucky because we managed their pitch counts in February and most of March, and I think now we can try to let them go a little bit. I think that’s what we’ll have to do.”

“I’m looking forward to getting healthier.” – Scott Strickland

Starting pitchers Emerson Hancock, C.J. Smith and Tony Locey have been excellent this season, and the  defense behind the pitching staff has been stellar, leading the SEC with a .991 fielding percentage in SEC play.

With Vanderbilt leading the league in hitting percentage, on base percentage, and second in runs scored, this Georgia baseball team will need all the pitching and defense it can muster this weekend.