(Photo by David Barnes)
Ole Miss vs Georgia Baseball: The Bulldogs wrap up a school-record 22-game stretch against ranked opponents by playing host to the 7th-ranked Rebels from Mississippi in an SEC series starting Friday.
First pitch at Foley Field will be at 7 p.m. During this gauntlet under coach Scott Stricklin, the Bulldogs are 7-12. Georgia’s strength of schedule ranks No. 1 in the country. The Bulldogs are 8-14 against ranked teams this year, and that’s bolstered their RPI to No. 28.
With three weeks left in the regular season, Georgia (22-23 overall, 7-14 SEC) is in a four-way tie for 10th place in the SEC with the top 12 teams advancing to the SEC Tournament (May 24-29). The Bulldogs are tied with Missouri, Arkansas and Auburn. After the Ole Miss series, Georgia goes to Missouri (24-22, 7-14 SEC) and finishes the regular season playing host to Tennessee (24-21, 6-15 SEC).
Currently, Ole Miss (34-12 overall, 12-9 SEC) is second in the Western Division. The Bulldogs are eyeing a spot in the SEC Tournament and an overall mark above .500 to qualify for an NCAA Regional at-large bid. The Bulldogs were in a similar spot in 2011 and accomplished this feat. They finished the regular season 28-29 (16-14 SEC) and went 3-1 at the SEC Tournament. They earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Corvallis (Ore.) Regional and went 2-2 to cap the year with a 33-32 mark. Last year, Auburn earned an NCAA at-large bid after going 13-17 in the SEC (34-22 regular season) with an RPI in the 20s.
Georgia is batting .250 with an ERA of 4.76 and fielding .967. In SEC action, the Bulldogs are hitting .257 with a 5.81 ERA and fielding .960. The Ole Miss series will be available on SEC Network+. In records dating back to 1950, the Georgia-Ole Miss series is tied at 35-all. Bulldog head coach Scott Stricklin is 1-2 versus Ole Miss, dropping a series in Oxford in 2014. The Rebels last visit to Athens came in 2012 and Georgia won that series 2-1. Ole Miss is led by head coach Mike Bianco, and he’s in his 16th season. Last weekend in Oxford, they beat #10 LSU two games to one.
The Ole Miss series will be Lettermen’s Weekend in Athens. On Saturday, Georgia will honor a pair of former lettermen (Tommy Lewis and Larry Rakestraw) with special awards plus the 2006 Bulldogs that advanced to the College World Series will be recognized. The 2006 team beat South Carolina in a thrilling NCAA Super Regional in Athens to make it to the CWS. The squad finished with a No. 6 final ranking, posting a 47-23 overall mark and 18-12 in the SEC. Lewis will receive the Charley Trippi Lifetime Achievement Award while Rakestraw will receive the Tom Cousins Athletic Achievement Award.
Georgia’s leading hitters are junior outfielders Skyler Weber (.318-2-24, 10 SB) and Stephen Wrenn (.283-4-22, 10 SB) while the RBI leader is sophomore left fielder Keegan McGovern (.253-5-28) who also has a team-high 32 walks. Weber batted .500 (9-for-18) with three doubles and two RBI last week. In SEC action, Weber is batting a team-best .333-1-13 while junior first baseman Trevor Kieboom is next at .311-1-5 and then Wrenn at .301-4-10. Wrenn ended Georgia’s streak of consecutive solo home runs when he blasted a two-run shot at Vanderbilt this past Saturday. The Bulldogs had hit 21 straight solo shots dating back to March 8. It had been 31 games since Georgia had hit a home run with someone on base. For the year, the Bulldogs have hit 31 home runs (26 solo).
Pitching Matchups
Friday: Robert Tyler (3-4, 3.34 ERA) vs. Brady Bramlett (6-2, 2.61 ERA), RHP, RJr.
Saturday: Connor Jones (5-4, 5.02 ERA) vs. David Parkins (2-2, 2.38 ERA), LHP, So.
Sunday: TBA vs. James McArthur (5-0, 2.64 ERA), RHP, Fr.
Tyler headlines the Bulldog pitching staff with 71 strikeouts in 57 innings in 11 starts. Senior Heath Holder (2-3, 3.44 ERA) leads the SEC in lowest opponent’s batting average at .152 while Tyler is second at .177. Jones will be making his 13thappearance including 11th start.
Follow The Action: Here are the video links for the upcoming series with the Rebels.
May 6-8 vs. #7 Ole Miss, 7/2/1 pm ET (SECN+)
CLICK HERE FOR SATURDAY’S GAME
Radio
Georgia Bulldog Sports Network from IMG College (David Johnston/Jeff Dantzler)
Stations: 960 AM-WRFC and selected affiliates (check your local listings)
georgiadogs.com
Georgia Bulldogs app and TuneIn app.
Additional Coverage on Twitter: @BaseballUGA
Foley Field Ticket Information
*Reserved Seat Tickets: $8; General Admission Tickets: $5; Order online or by calling 1-877-542-1231
*UGA Student Tickets: Free Admission with valid UGA Student ID Card; Note: UGA Student Gate is located off Rutherford Street
*Foley Field Ticket Booth opens two hours before game time.
Promotions For The Ole Miss Series
Saturday
*Lettermen’s Day: Baseball team will honor two former lettermen and recognize the members of Georgia’s 2006 College World Series team.
*The first 750 fans receive a Georgia 2006 replica jersey t-shirt.
*Fans can play catch in the outfield for 30 minutes after the game
Sunday
*Halfway to Halloween Day: The first 1,000 fans receive a Hairy Dawg Halloween Bobblehead.
*Kids can run the bases after the game
*Postgame Autograph session with the Bulldogs
CLICK HERE
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OLE MISS vs GEORGIA BASEBALL NOTES