The No. 23 Georgia Bulldogs return to Southeastern Conference action Thursday at top-ranked Vanderbilt. First pitch at Hawkins Field is set for 7:02 p.m. ET and be available on the SEC Network and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Georgia (18-10, 3-6 SEC) aims to snap a three-game losing streak when it faces the Commodores (24-3, 8-1 SEC). After beating No. 8 South Carolina last Friday at Foley Field, Georgia dropped the series and then fell 2-1 to Ga. Southern this past Tuesday. In the three losses, the Bulldogs have been hurt by nine home runs. The loss to the Eagles came on two solo home runs, the last with two outs in the top of the ninth.
Did You Know? Georgia is the last team to beat the Commodores in a three-game series, doing it in Athens in April of 2019 in what was a top five showdown. VU won the opener 3-2 in 11 innings, and Georgia claimed the next two games 8-3 and 3-1. The Commodores went on to win the College World Series (CWS).
Series History: Georgia leads the all-time series with the Commodores 121-111 as it dates back to 1897. Georgia’s last win over a No. 1 team came in 2018 when it beat Florida 4-1 in Gainesville to avoid a sweep. The last time Georgia won a series over the Commodores in Nashville came in 2008 when it clinched the SEC title at Hawkins Field. Those Bulldogs would reach the CWS Finals, falling to Fresno State in three games.
The Numbers: Georgia is batting .273 with a .347 OB%. The team ERA is 3.36, and the Bulldogs are fielding .980. The Commodores are batting .316 with a .420 OB%. VU’s team ERA is 2.31, and they are fielding .975.
On The Mound: Georgia will employ the same SEC rotation it has used during league series to date: Freshman LHP Luke Wagner (3-2, 2.95 ERA) goes in game one followed by senior LHP Ryan Webb (2-1, 3.14 ERA) and sophomore RHP Jonathan Cannon (1-2, 4.58 ERA). The Commodores feature a pair of aces who are combined 14-0 with a 0.63 ERA in 14 starts. They are Kumar Rocker (7-0, 0.84 ERA) and Jack Leiter (7-0, 0.43 ERA). They will start the first two games, and VU has not announced a starter for Saturday’s contest.
Hitters: Bulldog redshirt junior OF Connor Tate (.358-5-17) ranks among the SEC leaders in batting and hits (38-for-106). He saw his career-best seven-game hitting streak end this past Tuesday versus Ga. Southern. Against #8 USC, he hit a pair of home runs while batting .444 in the series. Redshirt junior INF Josh McAllister (.362-5-13), who ranks among the SEC leaders in batting, is day-today after having to leave last Friday’s South Carolina game with a pulled hamstring. It is the second time this year that the injury has flared up. He ranks fourth in SEC action with a .400 batting average (12-for-30) and a .700 slugging percentage. Earlier this year, he had a 17-game on base streak. Vanderbilt is paced by Dominic Keegan at .408-6-29 and Enrique Bradfield, Jr., who is batting .374-0-15 and is 20-for-21 in stolen base attempts.
Rest of Series: Game two of the VU series will be Friday at 7:32 pm ET (SECN+) and game three will be Saturday at 3:02 pm ET (SECN+).
Pitching Matchups: UGA vs. VU
Thurs.: #27 Luke Wagner (3-2, 2.95, LHP, Fr.) vs. #80 Kumar Rocker (7-0, 0.84, RHP, Jr.)
Fri.: #55 Ryan Webb (2-1, 3.14, LHP, Sr.) vs. #22 Jack Leiter (7-0, 0.43, RHP, So.)
Sat.: #12 Jonathan Cannon (1-2, 4.58, RHP, So.) vs. TBA
Radio Links: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Announcers: Jeff Dantzler, David Johnston)
Thursday, Pregame Show at 6:40 pm ET: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=3936&type=Live
Friday, Pregame Show at 7:10 pm ET: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=3937&type=Live
Saturday, Pregame Show at 2:40 pm ET: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=3938&type=Live
All regular season Bulldog games will be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network with Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston bringing you the action. Georgia home games along with SEC road games will be available on the SEC Network+ platform too. All Georgia baseball games will be carried locally on WRFC 960 AM as it will serve as the primary home for all broadcasts. In Atlanta, Bulldogs fans can tune in to WFOM 1230 AM. Fans can listen to every game online for free through the official website of the Bulldogs, georgiadogs.com and the Georgia Bulldogs app. Also, games will be available on TuneIn. Live Stats are available via the Bulldogs app too.
SEC Network TV Links: (Friday Announcers: Dave Neal, Kyle Peterson)
Thursday at 7:02 pm ET: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=fc647fe0-ba34-407a-9564-67dd62837bec
Friday at 7:30 pm ET: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=0f27c95e-e92a-47a8-bd9d-18b25a370c13
Saturday at 3:02 pm ET: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=0f27c95e-e92a-47a8-bd9d-18b25a370c13