No. 7 Georgia Battles No. 1 Arkansas

ATHENS, Ga.-----Seventh-ranked Georgia continues Southeastern Conference action here Friday as the Bulldogs battle top-ranked Arkansas. First pitch will be at 6:02 p.m. EDT (SECN+).

Saturday's game will start at 4:02 p.m. EDT on SECN+ while Sunday's game begins at 1:02 p.m. EDT (SECN+). The entire series is sold out and will be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. Fans looking to purchase tickets can try https://seatgeek.com/georgia-bulldogs-baseball-tickets

Both programs are off to their best start in school history. After posting a pair of SEC sweeps over ranked teams to get to 8-1 in the league, it was the Bulldogs (30-5, 8-4 SEC) who were swept last weekend on the road, falling to then No. 5 Texas. Georgia entered that series among the national leaders in scoring, averaging 10.5 runs a game. However, Texas held Georgia to eight runs as the Longhorns won 5-1, 7-4 and 4-3 in 10 innings. Meanwhile, Arkansas hammered Missouri in Fayetteville with a program-record 51 runs in an SEC series in registering their third consecutive SEC sweep. In fact, the Razorbacks have won 11 straight SEC games after dropping their opener at Ole Miss on March 14.

Arkansas leads the series 37-28 with the first meeting coming at the 1987 College World Series (5-4 Razorback victory). Most recently, the Bulldogs swept then fifth-ranked Arkansas in 2023 at Foley Field, winning 6-5, 7-3 and 9-8.
Georgia is a consensus top 10 squad in year two of the Wes Johnson era. The Bulldogs are 22-1 at home, 6-4 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites this season. They are fielding .985. Johnson served as pitching coach on Dave Van Horn's Arkansas staff from 2017-18, advancing to the College World Series Finals in 2018. In November of 2018, Johnson was hired as the pitching coach of the Minnesota Twins.

Georgia's last series against a No. 1 team came in 2024 on the road against Texas A&M. The Aggies won the series 2-1. Georgia's last series win over a No. 1 team came in 2021 when it beat Vanderbilt 2-1 in Nashville. That year, the Bulldogs faced the No. 1 Commodores plus No. 1 Arkansas in Fayetteville (UA 2-1). The last No. 1 team to visit Athens was Vanderbilt in 2015, and VU posted a sweep. Georgia's last series win over a No. 1 team at Foley Field came in 1993 with a sweep of Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs are batting .315 with .612 slugging percentage and NCAA-leading 92 home runs. They have a .453 OB% with 221 walks, been hit 85 times plus are 47-for-52 in stolen bases. The team's leading hitters are roommates Ryland Zaborowski (.424-15-51, .949 SLG%) and Robbie Burnett (.339-15-51, 11 SB). Zaborowski and Burnett rank among the NCAA leaders in home runs, slugging percentage, on base percentage and RBI. Recently, Zaborowski was named the NCBWA/Dick Howser Trophy National Hitter of the Month for March and a mid-season All-American by multiple outlets. Burnett made the second team mid-season All-America lists too. The Bulldog lineup may see INF/OF Tre Phelps (.305-5-26) return. He reached base safely in the first 27 games this year but has missed the last eight games due to a hamstring injury. Arkansas is batting an SEC-leading .335 with 74 home runs, a .601 slugging percentage and a .449 on base percentage. They are 29-for-40 in stolen base attempts. The leading hitters are Cam Kozeal (.411-7-37) and Charles Davalan (.410-12-41).

The Bulldogs have posted a 4.76 ERA with 357 strikeouts and 162 walks. Opponents are batting .225 against Georgia. Arkansas has a 3.52 ERA with 338 strikeouts and 92 walks this season. Opponents are batting .226 against UA with 23 home runs.

UGA-UA Probable Rotation:

Fri.: Brian Curley (2-0, 3.45 ERA), Jr., RHP vs. Zach Root (5-1, 3.48 ERA), Jr., LHP

Sat.: Kolten Smith (2-1, 4.34 ERA), Jr., RHP vs. Gabe Gaeckle (2-0, 5.77 ERA), So., RHP

Sun.: Leighton Finley (2-0, 6.44 ERA), Jr., RHP vs. Landon Beidelschies (4-0, 3.82 ERA), Jr., LHP

Foley Field In 2025
Gameday Central Link: https://georgiadogs.com/sports/2025/1/23/baseball-gameday-central
·       Foley Field Gates Open 1 hour before first pitch
·       Tickets – SOLD OUT; Available on SeatGeek: https://seatgeek.com/georgia-bulldogs-baseball-tickets
·       UGA STUDENTS:  Free Admission and please enter at 3^rd Base Gate
·       PROMOTIONS SCHEDULED:
Friday: Georgia Throwback Hat for first 500 UGA students
Sunday: Georgia Throwback Shirsey for the first 1,000 fans; Pregame-Anthem Buddies; Postgame-Kids Run the Bases

Radio/TV/Live Stats Links
Download the official App of the Georgia Bulldogs
https://georgiadogs.com/feature/mobile-app
Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Friday @ 6:02 p.m. EDT (SECN+)
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4807&type=Live

TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/16c2827c-fa6f-4523-bfc7-ff08b16ca075

Saturday @ 4:02 pm EDT (SECN+)
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4808&type=Live

TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/1d49c465-4807-4f05-a50e-8ed2d88d9363

Sunday @ 1:02 p.m. ET (SECN+)
Radio: 960 TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4809&type=Live

TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/29dfb1ad-4fb4-4d51-b8b5-9ab5f10c169d

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

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Players Mentioned

Tre Phelps

University of Georgia Athletics