ATHENS—- Georgia heads to Charleston to begin a stretch of five games in five days starting with the College of Charleston on Friday at 6 p.m.
The Bulldogs (7-1) will battle the Cougars (7-2) in a three-game series at Patriots Point. Saturday’s game begins at 2 p.m. with Sunday’s games slated for a 1 p.m. start. Georgia, under the direction of Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin, enters Friday’s series on a six-game winning streak with only Mother Nature stopping the Bulldogs after their game with Ga. State on Wednesday was rained out. All games will be carried on the Bulldog Sports Network from IMG. Friday’s game at College of Charleston and Monday’s tilt with Charleston Southern will be video streamed by the home team.
The Cougars, led by coach Chad Holbrook, posted midweek wins over Georgia Southern (3-0) and LIU-Brooklyn (8-2). After facing the Cougars, Georgia will take on Charleston Southern Monday and The Citadel on Tuesday.
Bulldog Hitting: The Bulldogs are averaging 9.5 runs a game while batting .326 with a 4.00 ERA and a .971 FLDG%. Georgia is led by its co-captains in senior left fielder Keegan McGovern (.483-6-14) and junior DH Michael Curry (.419-1-12). They have reached base in all eight games this year. Curry has a six-game hitting streak while McGovern had a five-game hitting streak earlier this year.
McGovern had a monster stretch to earn National Player of the Week and SEC Player of the Week honors, batting .571 with five home runs and nine RBI in four games. Last year, McGovern started 54 games and batted .291-2-21. He has matched his season-high for home runs after batting .263-6-35 as a sophomore. He came in this year with 11 career home runs. Sophomore Cam Shepherd (.393-1-7) ranks third on the team in batting and is tied for first in walks with McGovern as they have seven apiece. He has started every game at shortstop since stepping on campus, a span of 65 games. Georgia has tallied an NCAA-leading 11 sacrifice bunts including four by sophomore centerfielder Tucker Maxwell (.364-0-5) and three by senior infielder Trey Logan.
Bulldog Pitching: Georgia’s rotation for the series with the Cougars will feature junior Kevin Smith (1-0, 6.52), freshman Emerson Hancock (0-0, 2.45) and senior Chase Adkins (1-0, 1.64). This is the same rotation the Bulldogs have employed for the first two weekend series this season.
Sophomore Will Proctor (2-1, 5.40), who has moved to the bullpen after starting 38 games at second base last year, has already notched two wins. He pitched a total of 4.1 scoreless frames with six strikeouts against Kennesaw State (Feb. 21) and Charlotte (Feb. 24). His first win came at Kennesaw State that saw Georgia trailing 4-3 before erupting for an 11-run inning for an eventual 14-4 victory.
Georgia’s three saves on the year belong to sophomore Zac Kristofak (1-0, 0.00, 2 SV) and freshman Ryan Webb (0-0, 1.59). Webb, who leads the team with four appearances, inherited a bases-loaded, two-out situation in the ninth this past Sunday against Charlotte and registered a strikeout. Webb followed that up with two perfect innings and two strikeouts as part of a combined two-hit shutout of Wofford on Feb. 27. Sophomore Tim Elliott (1-0, 4.00) started and went six innings with a career-high seven strikeouts in earning the win over the Terriers. Sophomore Tony Locey (1-0, 9.00) was slated to start Wednesday’s game against Ga. State that was rained out.
Series History: Georgia leads the all-time series with College of Charleston 4-2. The Bulldogs last faced the Cougars to open the 2017 season in Athens. Georgia edged the Cougars 9-8 to avoid a sweep after Charleston took the first two games 9-3 and 15-6. Georgia last faced the Cougars in Charleston in 2013 and the Bulldogs won 5-3. On this year’s trip, Georgia will face Charleston Southern on March 5 and The Citadel on March 6. The Bulldogs are 9-0 all-time against Charleston Southern and 1-1 versus The Citadel.
Did You Know?
*Georgia ranks tied for first nationally in sacrifice bunts with 11.
*Bulldog senior Keegan McGovern, the current National and SEC Player of the Week, ranks second nationally in Home Runs (6) and Slugging Percentage (1.172)
Pitching Matchups: UGA vs. College of Charleston
Friday: #15 Kevin Smith (0-0, 6.52), LHP, Jr. vs. #18 Evan Sisk (1-1, 6.75), LHP, Jr.
Saturday: #17 Emerson Hancock (0-0, 2.45), RHP, Fr. vs. #13 Griffin McLarty (1-0, 0.96), RHP, So.
Sunday: #23 Chase Adkins (1-0, 1.64), RHP, Sr. vs. #32 Jakob Frishmuth (2-0, 0.82), RHP, So
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network from IMG College (David Johnston & Jeff Dantzler)
Stations: 960 AM-WRFC and selected affiliates (check your local listings), also via the Georgia Bulldogs app and TuneIn app.