University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Baseball At Georgia State Preview
March 17, 2009 | Baseball
#4 GEORGIA (15-2) at GEORGIA STATE (11-5)
The Field at Panthersville (1,000) - Atlanta, Ga.
Wednesday, March 18 - 6 p.m.
TELEVISION
None
RADIO
Georgia Bulldog Radio Network: Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston
Local Station: WRFC AM 960 The Ref
On the Internet: www.georgiadogs.com & GXtra
GEORGIA TRAVELS TO ATLANTA TO FACE GEORGIA STATE
Georgia takes a break from SEC play when it faces Georgia State Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Atlanta. This is the 42nd meeting between the Bulldogs and Panthers with Georgia holding a 35-6 edge. The two teams met last year in a midweek game in Athens as Georgia won 7-5, and with the exception of 2007 have met each year since 1993. The Bulldogs have won 10 straight in the series dating back to 2002. In last year’s game, Georgia trailed the entire game until tying it in the eighth. The Panthers took advantage of a couple of Bulldog errors to take a 5-4 lead going into the ninth, but Gordon Beckham delivered a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Georgia to a 7-5 win. Junior left-hander Alex McRee (2-0, 0.00 ERA) will get the start for Georgia on Wednesday, his first appearance since being diagnosed with mononucleosis March 5. He is scheduled to pitch one inning.
GEORGIA IN THE POLLS
Georgia is ranked in the top four in three major polls: third in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America polls and fourth in the Collegiate Baseball poll. The Bulldogs are ranked eighth by Baseball America. The Diamond Dogs were ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA last week for the first time in school history in the regular season.
ELLER RETURNS TO PANTHERSVILLE
Georgia assistant coach and recruting coordinator Jason Eller was a four-year letterman at Georgia State from 1992-95 and still holds the school record with 17 putouts in a game. A former first baseman/outfielder, he was named GSU’s most improved player in 1995. Eller served as an assistant on Mike Hurst’s staff at Georgia State in 2002 before coming to UGA.
WHO’S HOT
Junior first baseman Rich Poythress hit .500 (6-for-12) in the Alabama series and leads the team in batting average (.441), slugging percentage (.853), runs scored (26), hits (30), RBI (33), home runs (8) and total bases (58). His 33 runs batted is also tied for the league lead. The Grovetown, Ga., native hit a pair of three-run home runs in Georgia’s wins over Le Moyne last week, then had two hits in each game of the Alabama series. His solo home run in the fifth inning on Sunday tied the score, and Georgia added two runs in the sixth and held on for the 10-8 win. Poythress is hovering near the top 10 in several of Georgia’s career records lists. He is currently ninth in career batting average (.354), just two points behind former two-sport start Buck Belue. He is six home runs outside of 10th on the all-time home runs list with 32, 18 RBI outside 10th all-time with 132 and 12 doubles shy of 10th all-time with 35...Levi Hyams hit .444 (4-for-9) in the Alabama series including a three-run home run, the first of his career, in the second inning of game one. He had another hit in game two, then added two hits, two runs and two stolen bases on Sunday...The Georgia bullpen was superb on Sunday as Will Harvil and Dean Weaver combined to throw five scoreless innings. Harvil got Georgia through the fifth, sixth and seventh, and Weaver slammed the door in the eighth and ninth. Weaver has yet to allow a run in seven appearances and 11.0 innings pitched this season.
McREE RETURNS
Junior left-hander Alex McRee will make his first appearance Wednesday since being diagnosed with mononucelosis on March 5. The Gainesville, Ga., native is 2-0 this season and has not allowed an earned run in 10.2 innings. He missed the last two starts against Quinnipiac and Alabama, with Justin Grimm moving into McRee’s Saturday spot and Jason Leaver moving into the Sunday spot. When McRee went out, he led the team with 12 strikeouts.
LAST SERIES
Georgia had its 14-game winning streak snapped by Alabama Saturday as the Crimson Tide took both games of a doubleheader. As it normally does when the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide get together in Tuscaloosa, the weather interferred and rain postponed Friday’s game and forced the twin bill on Saturday. After the Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in the second inning, Alabama scored nine unanswered and went on to win 9-5. In game two, the Crimson Tide jumped on Georgia with a grand slam in the bottom of the first. The Bulldogs got within 4-3 in the fourth inning, but the Crimson Tide pulled away for an 11-5 win. Georgia responded with a 10-8 victory on Sunday. The Bulldogs jumped out to a seven run lead in the second inning, fell behind and eventually rallied to win.
GOOD START
Georgia’s 14-0 start to the season surpassed the 9-0 start by the 1911 team for the best start in school history. The start also tied the second longest winning streak in school history. During the 14-0 start, the Bulldogs ascended to No. 1 in two national polls (Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA) and scored double digit runs in 11 games. UGA played 100 innings to start the season without trailing at the end of an inning.
100 INNINGS WITHOUT TRAILING
It took 12 games and 101 innings, but Georgia finally found itself trailing at the end of an inning. Quinnipiac hit a two run homer in the top of the second on March 8 and held Georgia scoreless in the bottom of the inning, the first time the Bulldogs were behind at the end of an inning. It was also the first time Georgia trailed at any point since the sixth inning against Youngstown State on Feb. 22. It didn’t take long to regain the lead as Georgia scored one run each in the third and fourth innings, four runs in the fifth, and went on to win 7-2.
CLOSING IN
Georgia began its 122nd baseball season this year, and the Bulldogs are seven wins shy of the 2,000th win in program history. Baseball at UGA dates back to 1886 and it is the oldest sport on campus. Georgia’s all-time record is 1,993-1,468-23, and throughout history the Bulldogs have six SEC championships, six College World Series appearances, including three in the last five years, and one national championship.
OFFICIAL GEORGIA BASEBALL MERCHANDISE
Shop online via www.georgiadogs.com to order your official Georgia Baseball merchandise including the Nike white replica home jersey and the Nike black batting practice shirt.
