UGA Baseball: Georgia Opens SEC Tournament Tuesday Against LSU

ATHENS ——The Georgia Bulldogs open the SEC Tournament Tuesday against LSU at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala. First pitch is set for 5:32 p.m. ET and be available on the SEC Network and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

Georgia (30-23, 13-17 SEC) enters the SEC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and will face the No. 9 seed LSU Tigers (34-21, 13-17 SEC). They did not play each other during the regular season. The last meeting came in Athens  in 2019 when Georgia claimed a series two games to one. LSU leads the all-time series 68-23-2 including 9-2 in the SEC Tournament. They last squared off in Hoover in 2009 as LSU won a pair of seven-inning affairs. The winner of the Georgia-LSU game advances to the double-elimination part of the event and will face No. 1 Arkansas, who is the top seed and SEC Champion, on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Georgia is 30-46 all-time at the SEC Tournament in 25 appearances, and its best finish is second three times (1985, 1986 and 1989). The Bulldogs are making their fifth consecutive SEC Tournament appearance, their longest stretch since making six in a row from 1985-90. Georgia finished tied for third at the 2019 event. The 2020 SEC Tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bulldogs will start freshman left-hander Luke Wagner (3-3, 4.75 ERA) while LSU counters with junior right-hander Landon Marceaux (6-4, 2.04 ERA). Wagner retired the first five batters he faced in last Thursday’s game against No. 11 Ole Miss. With one out in the second, Justin Bench lined a shot off Wagner’s leg who fielded it and threw him out. However, Wagner left the game after the play.

Georgia has shown tremendous grit during the 2021 campaign after injuries and illnesses have decimated the pitching staff. It has had to lean on 10 freshmen including starters Wagner, Liam Sullivan (1-1, 3.82) and Jaden Woods (3-1, 4.93). Overall, Georgia’s 10 freshmen pitchers have combined to go 13-8 with five saves in 26 starts with a 4.46 ERA. In 206 innings, they have allowed 102 earned runs with 120 walks and 204 strikeouts.

Now the Bulldog offense has seen its share of injuries of late too. It has been missing two of its top veteran run producers in outfielders Connor Tate (out/ankle) and Riley King (questionable/knee). Still, Georgia enters the SEC Tournament with 13 wins, good for the No. 8 seed, including three victories over teams ranked No. 1. Georgia was never swept in league play, won a series over then top-ranked Vanderbilt in Nashville and beat eventual SEC champion and current No. 1 Arkansas in Fayetteville. The last two weeks of the SEC regular season, Georgia went into the final game of a series needing a win to avoid a sweep, and they responded with victories over No. 7 Florida in Gainesville and No. 11 Ole Miss in Athens.

The Bulldogs aim to make a strong showing at the SEC Tournament and consequently garner their 13th overall NCAA Regional bid and third straight after being a National Seed in 2018 and 2019. Georgia ended 2020 ranked as high as No. 2. The NCAA field of 64 will be announced on Memorial Day.

Georgia Baseball Radio Link: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Announcers: Jeff Dantzler, David Johnston)
Tuesday Pregame Show at 5:10 p.m. ET: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=3978&type=Live

All Bulldog games will be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. Georgia home games along with SEC road games will be available on the SEC Network+ platform too. All Georgia baseball games will be carried locally on WRFC 960 AM as it will serve as the primary home for all broadcasts. In Atlanta, Bulldogs fans can tune in to WFOM 1230 AM. Fans can listen to every game online for free through the official website of the Bulldogs, georgiadogs.com and the Georgia Bulldogs app. Also, games will be available on TuneIn. Live Stats are available via the Bulldogs app too.

SEC Network TV Link:
Tuesday at 5:32 p.m. ET on SEC Network (Dave Neal, Kyle Peterson, Todd Walker):
https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=e32dc533-2c47-4fbc-91e5-31cb8b6e39d6

SEC Tournament Tickets/General Information:
All-session ticket books can be purchased for $110 each. Single session tickets, if available, will sell for $20. Tickets can be purchased at www.SECticketoffice.com or by calling 1-877-332-7804.

Due to circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament will operate at reduced capacity at the Hoover Met for the 2021 SEC Tournament. Other important information to know for the 2021 edition of the SEC Baseball Tournament:

  • All seats will be reserved, and there will be no general admission seating due to COVID protocols.
  • Face coverings are required when entering and exiting the stadium, as well as in public spaces, such as concourses, restrooms and concessions lines. Fans are encouraged to wear face coverings when seated.
  • The tournament is a mobile ticket only event.  All fans will need a mobile ticket to enter the stadium.
  • Although there will be no Fan Fest activities in the Finley Center in 2021 due to the pandemic, a limited number of fan entertainment activities will be held outside the Finley Center throughout the week.
  • The SEC’s clear bag policy will be in effect as usual for the SEC Baseball Tournament.

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