As the college baseball season rapidly approaches the dog days of May, the Georgia Bulldogs are showing why they deserve to be in Omaha at the end of this season. The Dawgs have now won three in a row, all against ranked opponents, and look like one of the premier powers in college baseball.
Things seemed to be spiraling out of control for the Dawgs just a week ago, when the Texas Longhorns swept them on the road. Things got worse in their next conference game against the top-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. The Bulldogs lost at home in a laugher, 13-3. But the Bulldogs responded in earnest, winning the remaining two games against the No. 1 team in the country, both by a score of 7-6. Georgia took the series and vaulted back into the top five.
On Tuesday, the Dawgs stayed hot against their instate rivals, Georgia Tech, beating the 14th-ranked Yellow Jackets 5-2. The Bulldogs got to showcase their professional power, hitting two home runs in the Atlanta Braves’s park where the game was held. Georgia leads college baseball with 100 home runs as a team.
Offensively, the Bulldogs may have the most dangerous lineup in the league. They’re hitting .307 with a .599 slugging percentage. They’re aggressive on the basepaths with 50 stolen bases. There is power one through nine. Georgia’s consistent nine-hole hitter Kolby Branch has hit five home runs in the last five games, with 14 RBIs. Also in the lineup is Ryland Zaborowski, the March Dick Howser Trophy National Hitter of the Month, who’s near the top of every significant battery statistic in the country.
The pitching is what may undo the Bulldogs’ big hopes. Echoing last season, the Georgia bats greatly outshine the work on the mound, with the team posting a 4.77 ERA and 179 walks.
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Wes Johnson has been a pitching coach for college and MLB teams and has raised some of the best pitching prospects we’ve seen at the collegiate level, namely Paul Skenes. But the rotation has not yet found a consistent stride. There is plenty of power from the men on the mound, with several UGA pitchers hitting 95 or higher this season, but the command and placement have been inconsistent.
While the Bulldogs have the offense necessary to make any deficit manageable, the pitching staff would probably be the reason if this team falls short of its goals.
Now, the red-hot Dawgs travel to Vanderbilt for a three-game road series against the 19th-ranked Commodores. Vanderbilt has recently been at or near the top of the SEC in baseball, and while the conference is more loaded than usual, the Commodores are still in the hunt. A series win will be crucial for both squads amid their postseason aspirations.
