University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Baseball To Face Kennesaw State And Jacksonville State
April 21, 2009 | Baseball
KENNESAW STATE (21-14) at #1 GEORGIA (31-8)
Foley Field - Athens, Ga.
Tuesday, April 21 - 5 p.m.
#1 GEORGIA (31-8) at JACKSONVILLE STATE (22-14)
Rudy Abbott Field - Jacksonville, Ala.
Wednesday, April 22 - 7:30 p.m.
**All times Eastern
TELEVISION
None
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.
DOLLAR SLICE NIGHT
$1 Domino's Pizza slices will be available on the concourse portable concessions stand
GEORGIA BATTLES KENNESAW STATE AND JACKSONVILLE STATE
Top-ranked Georgia closes out its five-game homestand on Tuesday against Kennesaw State then opens a four-game road swing Wednesday at Jacksonville State. The Bulldogs played a combined four games against both teams last season last season, beating Kennesaw State two out of three times and defeating Jacksonville State 19-1 in the largest offensive output of the season. Cecil Tanner (2-0, 2.61) and Jason Leaver (3-1, 5.75) will start Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, for the Bulldogs.Georgia holds a 1.5 game lead over Arkansas in the overall SEC standings and a three-game lead in the SEC East with four weeks to go. The Bulldogs dropped an 11-6 contest to Georgia Tech last Tuesday in Athens, then rebounded to take two-of-three from Arkansas at Foley Field. The Bulldogs play a three-game series at Ole Miss beginning Friday.
WHO’S HOT
First baseman Rich Poythress is tied with Alabama’s Kent Matthes for second in the country with 62 RBI, trailing only Texas State’s Paul Goldschmidt who has 65. Poythress is ranked in the top three in the SEC in eight statistical categories including first in batting average, RBI and on-base percentage; second in slugging percentage and runs; and third in hits, total bases and home runs....Over the last 17 games, Colby May is Georgia’s leading hitter, batting .446 (25-for-56) with three home runs and six doubles. He is seventh in the league this season in batting and second among freshmen. May has the SEC’s eighth-highest on-base percentage...Bryce Massanari is batting .372 (16-for-43) in his last 11 games with six home runs and 12 RBI. Ten of his 12 home runs have come in the last 18 games...Matt Cerione is 15-for-38 in his last 11 games with a home run, five doubles, nine RBI and six runs scored. He had walk-off hits in Georgia’s wins over Arkansas on Friday and Saturday. His one-out single in the bottom of the ninth scored Johnathan Taylor from second on Friday, and he roped a one-out double down the right field line to score Miles Starr from first on Saturday to give the Bulldogs another 4-3 win over the Razorbacks. He hit .417 (5-for-12) in the series with three doubles and three RBI...The Georgia bullpen is a combined 12-1 with a 3.78 ERA this season with 160 strikeouts in 164.1 innings. The bullpen allowed just one run on four hits in 7.2 innings last weekend against fifth-ranked Arkansas. Overall the Georgia pitching staff is first in the SEC with a 3.66 team ERA...Dean Weaver has given up just one earned run in his last 11 outings and 11.2 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 23 appearances this season and is 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA.
RANKINGS
Georgia is ranked in the top four in three polls this week including first in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll and fourth in the Collegiate Baseball and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association polls. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 8 by Baseball America. Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State are unranked.
FIRST HALF
For the second straight year, Georgia was 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 a home run and two RBI against Arkansas, Rich Poythress moved into a tie for fifth on Georgia’s all-time home runs list (35) and is seventh on the all-time UGA RBI list (61). 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
Georgia hit six home runs in four games last week to bring the season total to 70. Entering the season, Georgia was averaging 63.4 home runs per year under David Perno. The Bulldogs have homered in 36 out of 39 games this season.
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)
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Rich Poythress (2009) 62 RBI - 39 Games (1.59 RBI/Game)
*** Through 39 games a year ago, Gordon Beckham was batting .435 with 19 home runs and 46 RBI. Through 39games this season, Poythress is batting .403 with 17 home runs and 62 RBI.
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: 4-2 (3 3-game sweeps)
overall: 38-38 (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
SIX
Georgia is 24-1 when scoring six or more runs this season. The Bulldogs’ first loss when scoring at least six was last week against Georgia Tech.
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 last week. The award is given annually to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I college baseball.
ON DECK
Georgia heads to Oxford, Miss., for a three-game set against Ole Miss beginning Friday. The Rebels are a half-game out of first in the SEC West.
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.