For the second time this season, the Horns welcome in a Top 5 ranked team to Disch-Falk Field.
#3 Georgia v. #5 Texas – From gridiron to the diamond, the Dawgs and Horns once again will square off as top ranked opponents in the SEC.
The Dawgs have the second longest win streak in the nation at 9 games. The Horns are coming up a mid-week home loss to Texas State. Georgia leads the nation in home runs hit, while Texas has given up just 14 bombs on the season. Georgia either leads or is near the top in nearly every offensive category in the nation, while the Horns boast one of the best pitching staffs in the nation per the statistics.
Something HAS to give. Will Georgia’s offense overcome Texas pitching or will the Horns rotation be able to silence the bark of the Dawgs?
The two teams have not played each other very much, having only met four times previously, and the last time they met was 21 years ago.
The Horns come into the game banged up and as under dogs by many accounts, while the Bulldogs come in scorching hot at the plate. The biggest question on the weekend is whether or not the Texas pitching staff led by pitching guru Max Weiner can silence the Dawgs offense. The next biggest question is how will the Horns offense fair against a Georgia pitching staff that is loaded with talent and arms that can reach back and throw gas, given the fact that they will be without leader Max Belyeu for at least the next six weeks, if not longer.
Can National Co-Hitter of the Week Will Gasparino help pace the offense? Can Rylan Galvan who was able to hit as DH on Tuesday night get right back into the groove of things? It remains to be seen what role if any freshman DH/3B Adrian Rodriguez will play this weekend as he nurses a sore hand. Guys like Ethan Mendoza, Jalin Flores, and Kimble Schuessler will have to pick up some of the offensive slack. That could lead to the Horns changing some of their offensive approach as well to compensate for missing the biggest power threat in the lineup.
On the mound, the Horns will have to be at their best. They NEED Friday night starter Jared Spencer to throw like the ace he has become. Luke Harrison will need to give the Horns a solid four to five innings. Out of the bullpen, it will be all hands on deck as the Horns will have to fill up the strike zone and limit free bases because the Georgia lineup is one that can make you pay dearly at any given moment.
Lastly, the Longhorns MUST have the fans in full voice all weekend long. From first pitch to last out, the team needs their support as the feed on the energy of the crowd as we saw during the Saturday and Sunday games against LSU.
Buckle up - we could be in for one hell of a weekend and stay tuned for full coverage throughout!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#3 Georgia Bulldogs v. #5 Texas Longhorns
Date: April 4-6
Time: Fri at 630pm; Sat at 2pm; Sun at 1pm
Where: Disch-Falk Field (Austin, TX)
TV: SEC Network+
Series History:
- First Met: 1912
- Last Met: 2004
- Last Texas Victory: 2004 – Horns beat Georgia twice in Omaha back in 2004 enroute to the national champion series against Cal State Fullerton, in which Texas lost in two straight games.
- All-Time Series Record: 3-1
- Home: 0-0
- Away: 1-1
- Neutral: 2-0
- Georgia is picked to finish 5th out of 16 teams
- 2024 Season: Dawgs went 43-17 (17-13 SEC), their season culminating in a Super Regional loss at home to NC State
Records:
Georgia Bulldogs: 29-2 (8-1 SEC)
Texas Longhorns: 23-4 (8-1 SEC)
RPI/SOS:
Georgia: 3 / 74
Texas: 11 / 80
Prediction:
- Georgia’s offense ends up being too much for the Horns as they win the series 2-1
- On the season, I am 19-8
Pitching Matchups:
- Fri – LHP Jared Spencer (3-1, 3.62 ERA, 1.31 WHIP) v. LHP Charlie Goldstein (0-0, 6.92 ERA, 1.62 WHIP)
- Sat – LHP Luke Harrison (2-0, 2.12 ERA, 1.35 WHIP) v. RHP Brian Curley (2-0, 3.42 ERA, 0.93 WHIP)
- Sun – Texas TBA v. RHP Leighton Finley (2-0, 6.66 ERA, 1.52 WHIP)
Georgia Bullpen:
- DJ Radtke (4-0, 2 saves, 1.62 ERA, 16.2 IP)
- Eric Hammond (0-0, 1.74 ERA, 10.1 IP)
- Paul Farley (1-0, 2.25 ERA, 12 IP)
- Jordan Stephens (3-0, 2 saves, 2.63 ERA, 13.2 IP)
- Matthew Hoskins (0-1, 1 save, 2.70 ERA, 16.2 IP)
Georgia Offensive Leaders:
- Ryland Zaborowski (.448 BA, 1.590 OPS, 14 HR, 48 RBI, 1.011 SLG%, .579 OB%)
- Robbie Burnett (.365 BA, 1.470 OPS, 15 HR, 47 RBI, .906 SLG%, .564 OB%, 11-13 SB)
- Slate Alford (.349 BA, 1.110 OPS, 9 HR, 40 RBI, .635 SLG%, .475 OB%)
- Nolan McCarthy (.333 BA, 1.008 OPS, 6 HR, 27 RBI, .568 SLG%, .440 OB%, 5-7 SB)
- Kolby Branch (.311 BA, .897 OPS, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .453 SLG%, .444 OB%, 6-6 SB)
Team Stats Comp:
Scoring Margin (Run Differential):
Georgia: 4th (+5.7)
Texas: 29th (+3.7)
Runs Per Game:
Georgia: 2nd (10.5)
Texas: 86th (7.7)
Hits per Game:
Georgia: 22nd (10.9)
Texas: 64th (10.2)
Runs per Game Allowed:
Georgia: 42nd (4.8)
Texas: 8th (3.9)
Hits per Game Allowed:
Georgia: 18th (7.2)
Texas: 8th (6.8)
| STAT | TEXAS | GEORGIA |
| Batting Avg | .299 | .324 |
| OPS | .937 | 1.095 |
| Runs | 207 | 327 |
| Hits | 276 | 339 |
| Doubles | 65 | 60 |
| Triples | 7 | 4 |
| Home Runs | 42 | 84 |
| RBIs | 191 | 298 |
| SLG% | .537 | .629 |
| Walks | 136 | 204 |
| Strikeouts | 237 | 243 |
| OB% | .400 | .466 |
| Stolen Bases | 35-47 | 45-50 |
| ERA | 3.13 | 4.79 |
| WHIP | 1.19 | 1.36 |
| Saves | 12 | 9 |
| Earned Runs | 82 | 142 |
| Bases on Balls | 97 | 141 |
| Strikeouts | 239 | 311 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 14 | 33 |
| B/Avg | .215 | .255 |
| Errors | 27 | 17 |
| Fielding% | .973 | .985 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NCAA Baseball Weekend Pick Em:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEC Baseball Weekend Pick Em:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEC Stats Rankings:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the Midseason Projection by D1Baseball.com for the NCAA Tourney
It would be quite the SPICY regional with plenty of storylines!
