No. 5 Georgia Starts Vandy Series Thursday In Nashville

ATHENS, Ga.-----Fresh off its latest win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta, fifth-ranked Georgia continues a road trip Thursday in Nashville when it starts a Southeastern Conference series against No. 19 Vanderbilt. First pitch will be at 7 p.m. EDT (SECN+).

Friday's game will start at 7 p.m. EDT while Saturday's game begins at 3 p.m. EDT. The entire series will be streamed on SEC Network+ and be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

Georgia is a consensus top five squad in year two of the Wes Johnson era. The Bulldogs are 24-2 at home, 6-4 on the road and 3-0 at neutral sites this season. Last weekend in the SEC, the Bulldogs posted an impressive series win over top-ranked Arkansas at Foley Field. After dropping the opener 13-3 that featured a seven-run outburst in the ninth, the Bulldogs reeled off two straight 7-6 wins including a 12th-inning walk-off home run by senior Henry Hunter on Sunday.

VU posted a 4-3 walk-off in 10 innings of Lipscomb Tuesday. Last weekend, the Commodores avoided being swept by No. 18 Oklahoma in Norman with a 13-2 victory in eight innings. OU claimed the series with a 9-4 win in the opener and a 14-0 shutout in seven innings in game two.

In the series history with VU, Georgia holds a 127-117 edge dating to 1897. The last two years have seen sweeps by the home team. Georgia swept VU in 2024 while VU did the same in Nashville in 2023. In 2021, VU was ranked No. 1, and the Bulldogs came to Nashville and won the series 2-1.

Hunting Another National Seed
Last season in Wes Johnson's first year in Athens, the Bulldogs entered the NCAA Tournament with a strong RPI, a 39-14 record, and 17-13 mark in the SEC. That was good enough for a No. 7 national seed, and the Bulldogs fell one game shy of advancing to the College World Series after hosting a regional and super regional.

In 2025, Georgia looks to improve on that as it currently ranks No. 1 in RPI, as high as No. 3 in the polls, plus has the best record in school history after 39 games at 33-6 (10-5 SEC). Georgia's 1990 national champions had a 32-7 mark after 39 games while the 2024 team was 29-10 (9-9 SEC) at this point.

The Bats, The Pitching And The Gloves
The Bulldogs are batting .307 with a .599 slugging percentage and an NCAA-leading 100 home runs. They have a .440 OB% with 232 walks, been hit 89 times plus are 50-for-55 in stolen bases. The team's leading hitters are roommates Ryland Zaborowski (.409-16-55, .904 SLG%) and Robbie Burnett (.333-16-53, 12 SB). Junior Kolby Branch (.313-8-24) is heating up, blasting four homers with 12 RBI last week. Then on Tuesday in Atlanta, Branch hit a go-ahead two-run home run at Truist Park in a 5-3 win over #14 Tech.

Vanderbilt is batting .268 with 32 home runs, a .416 slugging percentage and a .382 on base percentage. They are 72-for-81 in stolen bases. The leading hitters are Riley Nelson (.350-4-29), Jacob Humphrey (.314-3-20, 16 SB) and Jonathan Vastine (.287-5-25).

The Bulldogs have posted a 4.77 ERA with 409 strikeouts and 179 walks. Opponents are batting .225 against Georgia. Vanderbilt has a 3.69 ERA (11th best in D1) with 418 strikeouts and 141 walks this season. Opponents are batting .212 against the Commodores with 32 home runs.

Both Georgia and Vanderbilt enter the series fielding .982, good for sixth nationally and second in the SEC. VU is 19-3 at home this season and is seventh in the latest NCAA RPI.

Georgia Rotation For VU Series
Thursday-Brian Curley, RHP, Jr. (2-0, 3.48 ERA) vs. VU LHP JD Thompson (2-3, 4.44 ERA)
Friday-Kolten Smith, RHP, Jr. (3-1, 4.18 ERA) vs. VU RHP Cody Bowker (2-2, 3.32 ERA)
Saturday-Leighton Finley, RHP, Jr. (2-0, 5.66 ERA) vs. VU RHP Connor Fennell (3-0, 2.95 ERA)

Last week against No. 1 Arkansas, Georgia started a trio of junior right-handers in Brian Curley (2-0, 3.48 ERA), Kolten Smith (3-1, 4.18 ERA) and Leighton Finley (2-0, 5.66 ERA). In SEC action, Curley is 1-0 with a 4.56 ERA. Smith is 2-1, with a 2.45 ERA while Finley is 1-0, 5.40 ERA. Curley provided five innings and allowed three runs on four hits with no walks and five strikeouts in a no decision. Smith earned a win, going five innings and allowing just two runs on five hits with a walk and eight strikeouts. Finley was in line for a win and got a no decision after Arkansas rallied to tie it in the ninth. He went 5.2 innings (the longest by a starter this year) and allowed one earned run on three hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

Radio/TV/Live Stats Links
Download the official App of the Georgia Bulldogs
https://georgiadogs.com/feature/mobile-app
Live Stats: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=vand

Thursday @ 7 p.m. EDT
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4811&type=Live

TV: SECN+
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/4a4a71cc-f144-493f-80b7-68a80dc05975

Friday @ 7 pm EDT
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4812&type=Live

TV: SECN+
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/d36b3772-6b40-4a8a-9545-6ba4b189aa95

Saturday @ 3 p.m. EDT
Radio: 960 TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4813&type=Live

TV: SECN+
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/373e876a-0332-4522-9473-eafa512ac6b0

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).

No. 5 Georgia Starts Vandy Series Thursday In Nashville

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Players Mentioned

Kolby Branch

University of Georgia Athletics