University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Baseball vs. Arkansas Preview
April 16, 2009 | Baseball
#5 ARKANSAS (25-9, 10-4 SEC) at #1 GEORGIA (29-7, 11-4 SEC)
Foley Field - Athens, Ga.
Friday, April 17 - 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 18 - 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 19 - 2 p.m.
TELEVISION
Friday and Sunday: COX Sports in Arkansas; WNEG in Athens; Announcers: Mike Nail and Andy Demetra
Saturday: FS South; Announcers: Dave Neal and Larry Conley
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
Tickets available for Friday and Sunday; Saturday is sold out. 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.
GEORGIA VS. ARKANSAS
No. 1 Georgia plays host to fifth-ranked Arkansas in a matchup of the SEC’s two division leaders. The Bulldogs lead Arkansas by a half game in the overall standings and lead Florida by two games in the East while the Razorbacks hold a half game edge over LSU in the West. Arkansas had been in first in the SEC race since conference play began March 13, but Georgia moved into the top spot after sweeping Kentucky last weekend while Vanderbilt took both games of a rain-shortened series in Fayetteville. In five SEC series this season, Georgia has sweeps over Mississippi State, Tennessee and Kentucky. Arkansas swept its first two series against Florida and Auburn and began SEC play 8-0. Arkansas leads the all-time series 19-14, but Georgia holds an 8-6 edge in Athens. The Dogs won the series 2-1 last year in Fayetteville. After a 5-1 Arkansas win on Friday night, Georgia rallied from being down 10-1 after five innings on Saturday and won 15-11, then cruised to a 13-2 win on Sunday. The Bulldogs will again use the rotation of senior righty Trevor Holder (6-2, 3.86) on Friday, junior lefty Alex McRee (4-0, 2.30) Saturday and sophomore righthander Justin Grimm (2-1, 4.61) on Sunday.
WHO’S HOT
First baseman Rich Poythress is tied with Texas State’s Paul Goldschmidt for the nation’s RBI lead with 60, and he is ranked in the top three in the SEC in eight statistical categories including first in batting average, on-base percentage, and RBI; second in slugging percentage, runs scored, hits, total bases and third in home runs...Over the last 14 games, Colby May is Georgia’s leading hitter, batting .500 (23-for-46) with three home runs and five doubles. He is seventh in the league this season in batting and second among freshmen. May has the SEC’s fifth-highest on-base percentage...Lyle Allen broke out of a slump by hitting .417 (5-for-12) with a home run and four RBI last weekend in the Kentucky series. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in game one and followed that with a three-hit performance in game two. Allen made a potential game-saving catch with runners at the corners in the sixth inning on Sunday...Bryce Massanari is batting .452 (14-for-31) in his last eight games with five home runs and nine RBI. Nine of his 11 home runs have come in the last 15 games. Massanari is ninth in the SEC in batting...Matt Cerione is 12-for-29 in his last eight games with a home run, three doubles, six RBI and six runs scored. He hit .545 (6-for-11) with a home run and two doubles against LSU and had two hits in each game of the series. Cerione had three hits in two games at Kentucky...The Georgia bullpen is a combined 10-1 with a 3.91 ERA this season with 152 strikeouts in 156.2 innings. Overall the Georgia pitching staff is second in the SEC with a 3.80 team ERA...Dean Weaver has given up just one earned run in his last 10 outings and 10.2 innings and has earned five saves in that span...Weaver leads the SEC in saves and games finished...Another reliever Will Harvil leads the SEC with 21 appearances this season and is 3-1 with a 2.17 ERA.
RANKINGS
Georgia is ranked in the top two in three polls this week including first in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll and second in the Collegiate Baseball and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association polls. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 8 by Baseball America. Arkansas is ranked fifth by Collegiate Baseball, 11th by Baseball America and 12th in the coaches’ and NCBWA polls.
FIRST HALF
For the second straight year, Georgia is alone in first place at the halfway point of the SEC race. In the last two years, the Bulldogs are 23-7 in the first half of SEC play. This year’s mark of 11-4 is one win shy of last year’s 12-3 record, the best start to SEC play under David Perno. In five of the last seven seasons under Perno, the Bulldogs posted a better second half in SEC play. The two exceptions were Perno’s first season in 2002 when Georgia went 8-7 in the first 15 league games and then 7-8, and last year when the Bulldogs went 8-6-1 in the second half, having clinched the SEC title by week nine. Georgia’s best second half came in 2004 when it surged to the SEC crown by going 13-2. The 2006 squad nearly matched that by going 12-3 to finished second in the East and third in the league overall.
HOME RUN, RBI LISTS
With two home runs and four RBI against Kentucky, Rich Poythress moved into seventh on Georgia’s all-time home runs list (34) and a tie for seventh on the all-time UGA RBI list (159). Gordon Beckham is first on the home runs list with 53 and Roger Miller owns the career RBI record with 226 from 1986-89.
HOME RUNS
Despite falling to Georgia Tech Tuesday in Athens, Georgia hit four more home runs to bring the season total to 68. The Bulldogs have hit a home run in 34 of 36 games this year. Entering the season, Georgia was averaging 63.4 home runs per year under David Perno.
SINGLE SEASON RBI RECORD
Last season Gordon Beckham broke the Georgia record for most RBI in a season with 77. His teammate Rich Poythress actually had the second most ever with 75. Beckham is gone, but Poythress is still here and currently on a pace that would destroy both numbers. Here are the top five RBI totals for a Bulldog in one season and what each averaged per game that year:
1. Gordon Beckham (2008) 77 RBI - 71 Games (1.08 RBI/Game)
2. Rich Poythress (2008) 75 RBI - 69 Games
(1.09 RBI/Game)
3. J.R. Showalter (1990) 74 RBI - 71 Games (1.04 RBI/Game)
4. Jeff Keppinger (2001) 73 RBI - 69 Games (1.06 RBI/Game)
5. Josh Morris (2004) 71 RBI - 68 Games (1.04 RBI/Game)
-----
Rich Poythress (2009) 60 RBI - 36 Games
(1.67 RBI/Game)
*** Through 36 games a year ago, Gordon Beckham was batting .438 with 16 home runs and 40 RBI. Through 36 games this season, Poythress is batting .420 with 16 home runs and 60 RBI.
PERNO THIRD ON WINS LIST
Last season, David Perno passed former Georgia coach W.P. White (1921-33) and moved into third on the school’s all-time wins list. Steve Webber (1981-96) is first with 500 wins followed by Jim Whatley (1950, 52-75) with 336 wins and Perno with 290 wins. Perno and Whatley are tied for the most SEC Championships (2) and Perno is the leader in College World Series appearances (3).
SIX
Georgia is 24-1 when scoring six or more runs this season. The Bulldogs’ first loss when scoring at least six was Tuesday night against Georgia Tech.
PERNO VS. THE SEC
After losing the SEC opening series at Alabama, Georgia rebounded with sweeps against Mississippi State, Tennessee and Kentucky, bringing the total of SEC sweeps under David Perno to 15. Here are Georgia’s year-by-year SEC series records under Perno:
2002: 5-5 (1 3-game sweep)
2003: 2-8 (1 3-game sweep)
2004: 7-3 (4 3-game sweeps)
2005: 4-6
2006: 6-4 (3 3-game sweeps)
2007: 2-8 (1 3-game sweep)
2008: 8-2 (2 3-game sweeps)
2009: 3-2 (3 3-game sweeps)
overall: 37-38 (15 3-game sweeps)
**Sweeps does not include the 2-game sweep in 2005 vs Kentucky and 2-0-1 series win against LSU in 2008
DEAN WEAVER
Georgia junior Dean Weaver is one of 45 relief pitchers named to the midseason watch list for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, it was announced Thursday. The award is given annually to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I college baseball.
ON DECK
Georgia plays host to Kennesaw State Tuesday at 5 p.m. before traveling to Jacksonville State on Wednesday and Ole Miss next weekend.
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.
