University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Baseball vs. Mississippi State Preview
March 19, 2009 | Baseball
#25 MISSISSIPPI STATE (13-6, 2-1 SEC) at #4 GEORGIA (16-2, 1-2 SEC)
Foley Field - Athens, Ga.
Friday, March 20 - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 21 - 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 22 - 2:00 p.m.
**All times Eastern.
TELEVISION
CSS: Friday and Sunday; Announcers: Matt Stewart, Brian Jordan (Friday), Buck Belue (Sunday)
RADIO
Georgia Bulldog Radio Network: Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston
Local Station: WRFC AM 960 The Ref
On the Internet: www.georgiadogs.com & GXtra
TICKETS
Fans can purchase single game tickets online via www.georgiadogs.com or by calling 1-877-542-1231. Reserved seats are $8, general admission seats are $5 and admission is free for Georgia students with a valid UGA ID. All remaining tickets will go on sale beginning two hours before first pitch of each game at the Foley Field ticket windows.
SEC HOME OPENER
After four straight road games, Georgia returns to the friendly confines of Foley Field for the SEC home opener against Mississippi State. Georgia is coming off an 11-6 win over Georgia State Wednesday night in Atlanta. The Friday and Sunday games will be televised by CSS with Friday’s game scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. while Saturday’s first pitch will be at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Mississippi State opened league play by taking two of three from South Carolina in Starkville. The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a 13-6 record and split a pair of midweek games this week, falling to Southern Miss 10-7 and defeating UAB 8-4. Georgia will use the same pitching rotation it used in the first two weekends of the season with Trevor Holder (3-1, 2.01 ERA) starting on Friday, Alex McRee (2-0, 0.77 ERA) Saturday and Justin Grimm (1-1, 5.49 ERA) on Sunday. Last week, Georgia lost two out of three at Alabama to start league play. After Friday’s game was rained out, the Bulldogs dropped both games of a doubleheader on Saturday. UGA jumped out to a seven-run lead in the second inning on Sunday, only to see the Crimson Tide score eight unanswered to take a one-run lead. Georgia pulled even in the fifth, took the lead with a pair of runs in the sixth and went on to win 10-8.
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.
BUTCH THOMPSON
Mississippi State assistant coach Butch Thompson served as Georgia’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator under David Perno from 2002-05. He helped bring the nation’s 10th-ranked recruting class to UGA in 2003 before he was hired away by Auburn following the 2005 season where he was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator under Tom Slater for three years. Each of his three recruiting classes at Auburn were ranked in the top 18 nationally including the fifth-ranked class in 2007. This is Thompson’s first year at Mississippi State.
GEORGIA IN SEC HOME OPENERS
Georgia is looking for its third straight series win in SEC home openers this weekend against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs swept Auburn in Athens to start league play in 2007 and took two of three from Tennessee last year. Georgia has won four out of seven SEC home opening series under David Perno.
WHO’S HOT
Junior first baseman Rich Poythress hit .500 (6-for-12) in the Alabama series and leads the team in batting average (.431), slugging percentage (.833), runs scored (28), hits (31), RBI (33), home runs (8) and total bases (60). His 33 runs batted is also second in the league. 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 (.353), just three 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 11 doubles shy of 10th all-time with 36. Poythress carries an eight-game hitting streak into the weekend...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. Hyams had a season-high four RBI in Georgia’s win over Georgia State Wednesday night...Lyle Allen had a season-high three hits against Georgia State including an RBI double. He also scored three runs...The Georgia bullpen was superb last 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. Cecil Tanner and Jeff Walters did not allow a hit in the final three innings Wednesday against Georgia State.
McREE RETURNS
Junior left-hander Alex McRee made his first appearance Wednesday against Georgia State since his last start at Arizona on Feb. 28. He was diagnosed with mono on March 5 and missed the next to starts against Quinnipiac and Alabama. Against Georgia State, the Gainesville, Ga., native pitched one inning and allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits. McRee is 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA this season. When McRee went out, Justin Grimm moved into the Saturday spot and Jason Leaver moved into the Sunday spot.
GEORGIA-MISSISSIPPI STATE
Georgia has won the last six series against Mississippi State dating back to the 2003 season. In each of the last three years, Mississippi State has won the first game, and Georgia has bounced back to win the next two. Since David Perno became head coach in 2002, Georgia is 14-7 against MSU. State last won a series in Athens in 1997.
RON POLK
Mississippi State head coach John Cohen replaced current UAB volunteer coach Ron Polk, who also spent two seasons (2000-01) at Georgia. David Perno was an assistant on Polk’s staff at Georgia, and the pair guided the Bulldogs to the 2001 SEC title--the school’s first since 1954--and an appearance in the College World Series--the school’s first since 1990. Polk left for Mississippi State after the 2001 season and announced his retirement last year.
LAST TIME OUT
Every Georgia starter had at least one hit and the Bulldogs scored runs in five of the first six innings in an 11-6 win over Georgia State Wednesday in Atlanta. Lyle Allen had a season-high three hits and scored three runs, and Bryce Massanari and Chase Davison both hit two-run homers. Colby May and Matt Cerione had two hits apiece. Freshman Chase Hawkins (2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R) earned the win. Steve Esmonde, Cecil Tanner and Jeff Walters combined to throw 4.2 scoreless innings out of the Georgia bullpen.
CLOSING IN
Georgia began its 122nd baseball season this year, and the Bulldogs are six 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 1,994-1,468-23, and throughout history the Bulldogs have six SEC championships, six College World Series appearances, three in the last five years, and one national title.
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.