UGA Baseball: No. 4 Bulldogs Travel To Kennesaw Wednesday
ATHENS—– Fourth-ranked Georgia returns to action Wednesday when it travels to Kennesaw State for a 6 p.m. contest at Stillwell Stadium.
The Bulldogs (3-0) opened the season with a three-game sweep of Richmond in Athens this past weekend that featured a walk-off on Opening Day and another comeback on Sunday. Georgia hit .309 and posted a 4.00 ERA in the series. The Bulldog bullpen was exceptional, going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a save in 14 innings. Top-notch defense has been a constant for the Bulldogs as they have set a school record for Fielding Percentage the past two seasons including .980 in 2019. In the 2020 opening series, Georgia made just one error for a .991 fielding percentage.
Against Richmond, redshirt junior OF/LHP Tucker Bradley batted a team-best .600 (6-for-10) including a double, a home run, five RBI, three walks and three stolen bases. Also, he closed out Sunday’s game with 1.1 scoreless innings for a save to complete a sweep of the Spiders. Bradley was limited to just three games in 2019 after making a diving catch in the first series of the season and tearing his labrum and subsequent shoulder surgery. He was making his first pitching appearance since his freshman year in 2017.
Sophomore transfer Ben Anderson (Furman) looked comfortable in the leadoff spot and in centerfield, batting .455 (5-for-11) with a double, a triple and RBI and three walks to go with two stolen bases. Senior SS Cam Shepherd batted .417 with two doubles, three RBI and three stolen bases. Georgia went 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts against Richmond.
The Owls are 3-0 on the year after posting wins over St. John’s, Saint Peter’s and Cincinnati. They averaged 12 runs a game and batted .374 against their first three opponents. Like Georgia, the KSU team ERA is 4.00. The Owls fielded .976 with three errors to date. Senior 1B Justin Russell hit .500 (7-for-14) last week with three doubles and four home runs.
In the series history with the Owls, Georgia leads 15-10. Last year. Georgia won 11-1 in Athens and 7-6 in Kennesaw. Georgia redshirt freshman RHP Garrett Brown gets the start Wednesday, and it will be his Bulldog debut. Brown was a 2018 graduate of Manchester High School where he earned All-State honors after going 5-2 with a 0.93 ERA in eight starts as a senior with 61 strikeouts and 11 walks in 37 innings. He redshirted last year with the Bulldogs as they went 46-17 and reached the NCAA Athens Regional Final. KSU will counter with sophomore RHP Luke Torbert (0-0, 4.50 ERA). The teams will meet again next Tuesday, Feb. 25, at Foley Field with first pitch set for 5 p.m.
Georgia will play five games this week. The Bulldogs have a four-game series with Santa Clara at Foley Field starting Friday at 3 p.m. (Note Friday’s new start time of 3 p.m.). On Saturday, the teams will play a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m., and the series concludes with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
UGA-KSU Pitching Matchup, TV-Streaming/Radio Links
Wed. @ 6 pm, RHP Garrett Brown vs. RHP Luke Torbert ESPN3 Link: https://gado.gs/4fh
Radio Georgia Bulldog Sports Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
Stations: 960 AM-WRFC and selected affiliates (check your local listings), also via the Georgia Bulldogs app and TuneIn app. Audio Link: https://gado.gs/4fl
All Georgia baseball games will be carried locally on WRFC 960 AM as it will serve as the primary home for all broadcasts. Most of the 56 regular season Bulldog games will be available on the full Georgia Bulldog Sports Radio Network. In Atlanta, Bulldogs fans can tune in to WFOM 1230 AM for a select number of games. Fans can listen to every game online for free through the official website of the Bulldogs,georgiadogs.com , the UGA Gameday app and TuneIn. In the Savannah and Brunswick market, WSEG 1400 AM, 104.3 FM along with WSFN 103.7 FM and 790 AM will carry all Georgia games that do not conflict with the Atlanta Braves. Additionally, WBLJ 1230 AM in Dalton will broadcast all of Georgia’s SEC and postseason games that do not conflict with the Braves. WXKT 103.7 FM in Gainesville will carry Georgia’s Friday night games.
Additional Coverage on Twitter: @BaseballUGA
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