Photo: Greg Poole/Bulldawg Illustrated
Georgia (17-13, 4-5 SEC) continues a 22-game stretch against ranked opponents as it heads to No. 3 Texas A&M (22-7, 4-5 SEC) for a league series starting Friday.
Georgia is 3-4 against Top 25 teams this year including a series win over No. 21 Alabama this past weekend in Athens. On Tuesday, Georgia fell to 12th-ranked Clemson 11-6. Meanwhile, the Aggies have dropped four straight, getting swept by top-ranked Florida in Gainesville and then a 4-3 loss to No. 25 Rice in Houston. Texas A&M is 17-1 at home this season, the lone defeat coming to then 13th-ranked LSU on March 25. The entire A&M series will be available on SEC Network+ and carried on the Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network from IMG.
Inside The Numbers: In SEC action, the Bulldogs have been hitting better, ranking fourth in the league at .293 while the Aggies occupy the top spot at .307. The Bulldogs and Aggies have each scored 55 runs in league action. Georgia’s SEC ERA is 5.75 while Texas A&M checks in at 5.61. Overall, Georgia sports a 4.24 team ERA to go with a .257 batting average and averages 5.2 runs a game. Texas A&M has a team ERA of 3.17 with an SEC-best .325 batting average and scoring 7.6 runs a game.
Series Fast Fact: The Aggies lead the all-time series 4-2 as it only dates back to 2013. Georgia served as the Aggies first-ever SEC series opponent in 2013, and it swept the Bulldogs in College Station (4-1, 2-1{10}, 11-4). In 2014 in Athens, Georgia claimed the series over A&M (W 3-2, 6-1; L 9-5). Bulldog senior Daniel Nichols is the only position player to have ever played at Blue Bell Park. As a freshman in 2013, he started all three games in the series at first base and went 4-for-10 with a double and one run scored. Senior RHP Heath Holder is the only Bulldog pitcher to see action in College Station. He made one relief appearance.
Quick Glance At the Offense: Bulldog sophomore LF Keegan McGovern (.271-5-24), who has started all 30 games, leads the club in RBI and ranks among the league leaders in walks with 27 and home runs with five. He has reached base in 21 consecutive games. Junior C/DH Skyler Weber has a team-best .333 batting average while junior CFStephen Wrenn is next at .279, and he’s registered eight stolen bases. Senior SS Nick King (.260-0-9, 4 SB) enters the series with a six-game hitting streak.
Rotation Review: Georgia’s ace Robert Tyler, who is 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA, will start Friday. He has registered 54 strikeouts and just 19 walks in 41.1 innings, holding opponents to an SEC-low .130 batting average. He came one out away from pitching a no-hitter against No. 21 Alabama last Friday in leading Georgia to a 7-1 win. Alabama smacked a pinch-hit home run, and it ended a stretch of 15.1 scoreless and hitless innings (a span of 53 batters) in SEC action for Tyler. For his effort, Tyler was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball. Also, he was named the SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week by the league office Monday. On Friday, the Aggies will counter with sophomore RHP Brigham Hill (3-0, 1.66 ERA). Game two will feature junior LHP Connor Jones (4-1, 5.08 ERA) for the Bulldogs while the Aggies send sophomore RHP Jace Vines (4-0, 4.37 ERA) to the hill. Neither team has announced a Sunday starter.
Follow The Action: Here are the video links for the series:
Friday at 7:35 pm ET (SEC Network+)
Saturday at 2:05 pm ET (SEC Network+)
Sunday at 2:05 pm ET (SEC Network+)