University of Georgia Athletics
Baseball Hosts Ole Miss This Weekend
April 08, 2010 | Baseball
| Georgia Bulldogs (10-19, 2-7 SEC) vs. #15 Ole Miss Rebels (21-9, 5-4 SEC) | |||
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| Georgia-Ole Miss Pitching Matchups | |||
| Justin Grimm, RHP, Jr. (2-3, 4.46 ERA) vs. Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Jr. (5-0, 1.65 ERA) Jeff Walters, RHP, Sr. (1-2, 8.62 ERA) vs. Aaron Barrett, RHP, Sr. (6-1, 2.22 ERA) Michael Palazzone, RHP, So. (3-3, 8.24 ERA) vs. TBA Georgia is looking to win its first SEC series after starting out 2-7, however this will only be its second of the year at home. Georgia was swept at home by Auburn in week one and then has gone 1-2 the past two weeks at Miss. State and at #4 LSU. Ole Miss, led by coach Mike Bianco, comes to town on a three-game losing streak after dropping an SEC series to Tennessee in Oxford last weekend. Then, they fell 9-6 to Arkansas Little-Rock this past Wednesday. Still, the Rebels are 6-4 in their last 10 games and feature one of the nation’s premier pitchers in SEC Friday night starter Drew Pomeranz (5-0 1.65 ERA, 65K, 17BB, 43.2 IP). In SEC action, Pomeranz is 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA, beating #20 Kentucky in Lexington, #2 Florida in Oxford and the Volunteers in Oxford. In SEC action, the Rebels won two of three against the Wildcats, #2 Gators and then went 1-2 against the Volunteers. In the series history dating back to 1950, Georgia and the Rebels are tied 29-all, Last year in Oxford, the Rebels won two of three while Georgia defeated Ole Miss at the SEC Tournament in Birmingham, Ala. 2009 Results: Georgia 6-3; Ole Miss 10-8; Ole Miss 6-1; Georgia 6-3. | |||
| FAST FACTS ON THE BULLDOGS | |||
| Chance Veazey To Throw Out First Pitch Saturday: Freshman infielder Chance Veazey is slated to throw out the first pitch of Saturday’s Georgia-Ole Miss game. ­The first 750 fans to Saturday’s game will receive a Chance Veazey #15 replica shirt. The Georgia baseball team is wearing a special “CV” patch on its jerseys this season in honor of Veazey who is now paralyzed following an on campus scooter accident in late October. Veazey was projected to start at second base. Fans attending UGA baseball games at Foley Field this season have an opportunity to contribute to the “Prayers for Chance” fund. Veazey is back home completing fall semester classes online and plans to return to UGA fulltime next year and work with the bas­eball program. Veazey has been in Athens several times this season for home games. Fans have been encouraged to contribute a dollar each time they attend a Bulldog home game. Last season, Georgia set a record by attracting 93,360 fans to Foley Field. Thus, the Bulldogs have set a goal of raising at least $100,000 for Veazey through donations at home games. | |||
| Watch Out For That Cone | |||
| Sophomore CF Zach Cone, a third round draft pick by the Angels in 2008, is showing why he is a top pro prospect for 2011 with stellar defense (50 putouts, SEC-leading 6 assists, 0 errors) to go with a team-best .371 average, 28 RBI, five triples and six home runs. He had an 18-game hitting streak end Wednesday at #16 Clemson. During the streak, he batted .375 (27-for-72 with 22 RBI). | |||
| Hyams Solidifying Lineup and Defense: | |||
| Sophomore INF Levi Hyams (.349-1-13) is healthy and making an impact. He posted the best offensive numbers in the Miss. State series at .467 (7-for-15) with four doubles and four RBI. Then against #4 LSU this past weekend, he batted .333 (4-for-12) with two doubles, a home run and 7 RBI. In SEC action, he is batting a team-best .385-1-12. He missed the first 12 games of the year due in part to a back injury. When he returned, the first five games were for defense as he either took pitches or bunted. | |||
| Perno Going For #300 | |||
| At 299-227-1, head coach David Perno will be going for his 300th career win at Georgia. Now in his ninth season, Perno already has taken the Bulldogs to four College World Series including the 2008 CWS Finals. He is looking to become just one of three Bulldog baseball coaches to register 300 wins; Jim Whatley (336-327-3 from 1950, ‘52-75) and Steve Webber (500-403-1 from 1981-1996). | |||
| SEC Review | |||
| After a dreadful SEC-opening weekend against Auburn when Georgia was swept at home, the Bulldogs were in line to win a series at Miss. State before the bullpen imploded. In game three, Georgia led State 10-2 going to the bottom of the eighth. Then, State rallied for eight runs on eight hits and no errors to tie the game and won it in the ninth 11-10. Still, Georgia showed tremendous improvement in just about every phase as it gets healthy. This past weekend at #4 LSU, Georgia lost game one 4-3, picked up an impressive 12-6 win in game two and then a 3-2 game in the fourth turned ugly late eventually losing 15-5. Overall, Georgia’s team ERA is 8.62, and it’s 9.85 in SEC action. In Georgia’s 10 wins this season, the team ERA is 4.40 (44 ER/90 IP) while in the 19 losses it’s 10.98 (196 ER/160.2 IP). |
