Four-Game Series With Princeton Begins Friday

ATHENS-----The University of Georgia welcomes Princeton to Foley Field Friday to start a four-game series with first pitch at 5 p.m.. Saturday's action will feature a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. followed by a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.

All games will be nine innings, and for the Saturday doubleheader, the 10-run rule will be in effect. This will be the season opener for the Tigers as all Ivy League teams begin play on Feb. 24. Last weekend, Jacksonville State spoiled Georgia's season opener and then the Bulldogs bounced back to win the series. The Bulldogs fell behind in each game. Georgia outscored Jacksonville State 25-16 to win the series 2-1 but posted a 4.33 ERA and fielded just .955 with five errors. The Bulldogs hit .301 and smashed four home runs. Junior Parks Harber and redshirt-freshman Charlie Condon led the way as 14 different players saw action.

Harber batted .500 (6-for-12) with four runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and six RBI in the series. In game two with the Bulldogs trailing 3-0, Harber's three-run blast tied the game as Georgia rallied back for a 10-3 win. In the rubber game of the series, Georgia fell behind 1-0 in the first and Harber came through again in the bottom of the first with a two-run blast to put Georgia in front for an eventual 10-5 win. Overall, he reached base in all three games and had two hits in each game. He started two games at third base and one at first base.
                After going 0-for-4 in his debut, Condon bounced back to go 4-7 with six RBI in the final two games. He batted .364 (4-11) with six RBI in the series while starting three different positions (LF/1B/RF) and posted perfect fielding in 10 total chances. He provided the go-ahead RBI in Sunday's victory.

Junior LHP Jaden Woods and junior LHP Liam Sullivan are the top two candidates for the Bulldog rotation while the third spot has plenty of competition. Freshman Blake Gillespie got the Sunday start against JSU while junior Charlie Goldstein and senior Nolan Crisp will get a look in the Princeton series. Six Bulldogs (Crisp, Leighton Finley, Kyle Greenler, Dalton Rhadans, Kolten Smith and Pace Mercer) combined to throw 13.1 scoreless innings in the JSU series. Crisp pitched 3.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the Sunday series win while Mercer notched a save in game two, going 1.1 innings with three strikeouts.

Ivy League Insider: Yale graduate transfer Mason LaPlante (.455 BA), who started all three games of the JSU series (2-2B, 1-SS), can give this weekend's scouting report. He's used to playing Princeton. In fact, LaPlante's first career home run came on a leadoff shot against Princeton in a 13-6 win in 2022. Against JSU, LaPlante went 5-for-12 including a double, a bunt single, a stolen base and flawless defense in 14 total chances. Look for LaPlante to bat either ninth or leadoff this season. LaPlante, Harber and graduate Connor Tate hit safely in all three games against JSU. LaPlante and Harber have eight-game hitting streaks dating back to 2022.

The Tigers: Princeton is led by former Major Leaguer Scott Bradley who enters his 25th season. The University of North Carolina graduate was a left-handed hitting catcher (New York Yankees second pick behind NFL Hall of Famer John Elway in 1981) who made his debut in Yankee pinstripes in 1984. The Tigers went 7-33 last year. Princeton is projected to finish seventh in the eight-team Ivy League as voted on by the sports information directors and media from around the league. Columbia is the favorite. Georgia is 0-1 all-time versus PU, falling 7-2 in 1924.
    Princeton welcomes back a majority of its team including its starting nine and rotation. The top returning hitters are senior OF Brendan Cumming (.366-7-30), senior Alpharetta native OF Nadir Lewis (.329-10-36) and senior Jackson Emus (2-6, 4.76, 68 IP, 11 starts; .318-1-9 in 88AB).

Probable Rotation For UGA-PU Series
#17 Jaden Woods (0-0, 18.80, LHP, Jr.) vs. #21 Jackson Emus, RHP, Sr.
#14 Liam Sullivan (0-0, 0.00, LHP, Jr.) vs. #10 Tom Chmielewski, LHP, Jr.
#29 Charlie Goldstein (0-0, 3.38, LHP, RJr.) vs. TBA
#11 Nolan Crisp (1-0, 0.00, RHP, Sr.) vs. #8 Matt Scannell, LHP, Jr.

Radio/TV/Live Stats Information (Radio/TV simulcast: Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston)
Friday at 5 pm
960TheRef: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4361&sport=1&type=Live
Streaming: ESPN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=be7283c5-4f1e-4e35-be48-0b6f021269a4
Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Saturday at 1 pm (Doubleheader)
960TheRef: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4362&sport=1&type=Live
Streaming: ESPN+ Game One: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=3ac922fc-8c5a-44d9-8149-fba888d8ac77
Game Two: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=e9ed2f85-a3ce-46e9-9c28-f7ddc59158ba
Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Sunday at 1 pm
960TheRef: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4363&sport=1&type=Live
Streaming: ESPN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=6f0c2a37-867a-49df-bd89-4072a12e26a6
Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Promotions: Family Fun Day features children having the option to be an Anthem Buddy before the game and Run the Bases after the game.

Ticket/Parking Information
A limited number of tickets are available in the Left Field Bleachers and in the Right Field Bleachers.
For non-conference games not including Clemson and Georgia Tech, Friday tickets in the Left Field Bleachers are $8. Tickets for Saturday non-conference games not including Ga. Tech in the Left Field Bleachers are $10 while Sunday's game there will be $8. All Right Field Bleacher tickets are $5 for non-conference games not involving Clemson or Georgia Tech.
                Fans can get seats from other fans through our official secondary ticketing partner StubHub.
https://www.stubhub.com/georgia-bulldogs-baseball-tickets/performer/400525/
                Fans with tickets who are unable to come are encouraged to transfer them to other Bulldog fans, return them to UGAAA or resell them on StubHub.
                Foley Field Gates open one hour before game time.
                Free parking is available in the commuter surface lot behind the outfield.

FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS: For the latest Georgia baseball news, visit www.georgiadogs.com and follow the Bulldogs on Twitter (@BaseballUGA), Facebook (@GeorgiaBaseball) and Instagram (@baseballuga).

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Players Mentioned

Charlie Condon

Nolan Crisp

Leighton Finley

Blake Gillespie

Charlie Goldstein

Kyle Greenler

Parks Harber

Mason LaPlante

Pace Mercer

Dalton Rhadans

Kolten Smith

Liam Sullivan

Connor Tate

Jaden Woods