Diamond Dogs on the road for critical series at Mizzou

Georgia (28-21, 10-14 SEC) has its final SEC regular season road trip starting Friday when it faces Missouri (27-20, 7-17 SEC) in Columbia. First pitch will be at 7:02 p.m. and be available on SEC Network+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

The Bulldogs are 9-5 in their last 14 SEC games following a 1-9 start in the league. Georgia is 3-9 on the road in the SEC while Missouri is 6-6 at home. Last weekend, the Tigers won a series 2-1 over Ole Miss while the Bulldogs claimed a home series over No. 18 Tennessee 2-1.

Series History: Georgia holds a 15-12 edge in the series with Missouri including 14-10 in the Scott Stricklin era. The road team has claimed the last two series 2-1. Georgia won it in Columbia in 2021 while the Tigers took the series in Athens last year.

On The Mound:  The Bulldogs have a 6.07 ERA with 451 strikeouts and 238 walks. Opponents are batting .267 versus Georgia. Missouri a 5.76 ERA with 429 strikeouts and 202 walks. Opponents are hitting .249 against the Tigers. For game one Friday, Georgia will start freshman RHP Kolten Smith (2-2, 4.81) while the Tigers counter with senior RHP Chandler Murphy (3-4, 5.69). The Bulldogs have not announced starters for games two and three. Missouri’s game two starter will be junior LHP Javyn Pimental (1-0, 4.60) and the Tigers are TBA for game three.

At The Plate: Georgia is batting .289 with 87 home runs, a .389 OB% and is 32-for-38 in stolen base attempts. Redshirt freshman Charlie Condon is chasing the team’s triple crown, batting .410-22-62. Also, Condon ranks among the SEC leaders in batting, home runs, total bases and slugging percentage. Graduate Connor Tate ranks leads the SEC with 76 hits (one more than Condon) and is second on the club in batting at .390-13-50. Junior Parks Harber is next at .277-16-51.

The Tigers are batting .268 with 65 home runs, a .383 OB% and are 59-for-76 in stolen base attempts. Their leading hitters are senior Luke Mann (.326-17-45) and graduate Hank Zeisler (.307-14-54).

Got That Degree: When the 2023 season began, the Bulldog roster featured six graduates. After Saturday, that number will climb to 10 as pitchers Charlie Goldstein, Bryce Melear, Michael Polk and Jaden Woods will be the latest Bulldogs to earn a degree.

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