GEORGIA BASEBALL WEEKLY REPORT – March 14, 2016
Record: 12-5; Streak: W4
Last Week’s Results (4-1)
March 8 lost to Charlotte 10-5 at BB&T Ballpark, Charlotte, N.C.
March 9 d. Charlotte 6-3 in Charlotte, N.C.
March 11 d. Lipscomb 9-8 (11)
March 12 d. Lipscomb 1-0
March 13 d. Lipscomb 8-2
This Week (4 games; 1-road, 3-home)
March 15 at Kennesaw State, 5 pm
March 18-20 vs. Kentucky, 7/2/1 pm (Foley Field)
Pitcher of the Week Nomination
Heath Holder, Redshirt Senior, 6-6, 211-pound RHP, Loganville, Ga.
*Carried a no-hitter to the eighth inning but got a no decision in Georgia’s 1-0 win over Lipscomb at Foley Field Saturday
*Totaled career high in innings pitched (8.0); Only hit allowed was a leadoff single in the eighth and struck out eight total (one shy of his career-high)
*Lowered his ERA to 1.99, the best for a Bulldog weekend starter, going eight scoreless innings
*Fifth-year senior is in his first year as a starting pitcher and missed 2015 campaign due to elbow surgery; this was his fourth career start
Bulldog Notes
Georgia (12-5) enters the week on a four-game winning streak after splitting a two-game set with Charlotte and sweeping Lipscomb at Foley Field this past weekend. The Bulldogs have already registered four walk-off wins and are 3-1 in extra innings this season. Against the Bison this past Friday, Georgia won 9-8 in 11 innings on a walk-off walk and then clinched the series with a 1-0 walk-off courtesy of freshman pinch-hitter Michael Curry’s RBI-single to end a pitching duel. Up next, Georgia heads to Kennesaw State Tuesday at 5 p.m. (ESPN3) to face the Owls (7-8) before opening SEC action by playing host to red-hot Kentucky (12-3), and the entire series will be televised (Friday “Bases Loaded Coverage/SEC Network+; Sat.-Sun. on SEC Network).
Upcoming Series Fast Facts
In records dating back to 1950, Georgia is 9-8 all-time against Kennesaw State and 120-87-1 versus Kentucky. The Bulldogs are led by Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin while the Owls are coached by Mike Sansing and the Wildcats by Gary Henderson. The series with KSU last year was 1-1 with the home team winning. The Bulldogs won 9-5 at Folley Field while the Owls claimed a 2-1 victory at Stillwell Stadium. Georgia won a series over UK last year in Lexington 2-1. The Bulldogs dropped game one 6-2 and then posted wins of 12-3 and 6-1 in 10 innings.
Review of Last Week
Georgia went 4-1 last week. The week began with a two-game road trip to Charlotte against the 49ers. Georgia watched a late 4-2 lead slip away to the 49ers at BB&T Ballpark, falling 10-5. The Bulldogs bounced back on Wednesday for a series split, winning 6-3 at the 49ers on-campus stadium. Georgia then swept Lipscomb with a pair of walk-offs in games one and two (9-8 in 11; 1-0) plus a rout in game three (8-2).
KSU lost a home series 2-1 to Middle Tennessee last weekend. They share a couple of common opponents with the Bullodogs, going 0-1 against Charlotte and 0-1 versus Georgia Southern. Meanwhile, Kentucky is riding a nine-game winning streak after sweeping USC Upstate. They face Western Kentucky Tuesday before coming to Athens. Earlier this year, Georgia fell 8-7 to the Hilltoppers.
In the Lipscomb series, Georgia hit .257 and posted a 2.79 ERA, limiting the Bison to 10 runs and a .192 batting average. Offensively, Georgia was led by junior CF Stephen Wrenn in the first two games, going 4-for-9 with two RBI and 12 putouts. On Sunday, Wrenn was scratched from the lineup due to an illness, and his replacement, freshman Logan Moody, enjoyed a career day. He went 4-for-5 with his first career home run and four putouts. Sophomore LF Keegan McGovern added five hits and five RBI in the series to give him a team-leading 19 runs batted in this year. Wrenn has a nine-game hitting streak while junior C/RF Skyler Weber owns a career-best 12-game hitting streak. Freshman catcher Michael Curry is 4-for-4 as a pinch-hitter with two home runs and 5 RBI this year. He smacked a pinch-hit three home-run to give the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead against Charlotte at BB&T Ballpark last Tuesday and then delivered a pinch-hit game-winning RBI-single over Lipscomb in Saturday’s 1-0 thriller.
Rotation Review
Georgia will start freshman LHP Kevin Smith (2-0, 2.60 ERA) against the Owls Tuesday. He earned a win in his last start, beating Charlotte 6-3 last Wednesday, going 7.2 innings, scattering three runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts. In the UK series, Georgia will likely stick with its rotation it used last weekend, going with junior RHP Robert Tyler (1-1, 3.38 ERA, 33 Ks, 4BB in 21.1 IP), senior RHP Heath Holder (0-1, 1.99 ERA) and junior LHP Connor Jones (3-0, 3.15 ERA). Holder had the best outing among the trio versus the Bison, carrying a no-hitter to the eighth inning. Holder got a no decision, tossing a one-hitter with a career-high eight innings, allowing no runs with three walks and eight strikeouts. Tyler was staked to a 4-0 lead last Friday but the Bison used a six-run outburst to chase him as he surrendered six runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings and got a no decision. Jones recorded his third win this year to complete a sweep with a career-high eight strikeouts in six shutout innings. This is the first year in the rotation for Holder and Jones.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network from IMG College (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
Stations: 960 AM-WRFC and selected affiliates (check your local listings), georgiadogs.com and via the Georgia Bulldogs app and TuneIn app.
Additional Coverage on Twitter: @BaseballUGA