The number 13 is one that many would consider unlucky. Friday the 13th is considered the unluckiest day of the year. Hotels rarely have 13th floors.
The Georgia Bulldogs saw that unlucky number this weekend multiple times in Gainesville. Except, it was not all curses and bad luck for Wes Johnson’s crew.
Until this weekend, the Bulldogs had not swept the Florida Gators on the road since 2006 – a year when they went to the College World Series. This weekend, the Dawgs had the brooms ready to go in a dominating fashion.
Rolling into this matchup, the Dawgs were the fourth-ranked team in the country. The Gators? No. 13.
Johnson knew that the first-ranked matchup for the Dawgs this season would be challenging, but he also knew that his team could walk away with three wins.
“The challenge is gonna be if we can just slow the game down and play clean baseball and can the pitching staff get us off to a good start,” Johnson said. “If they can, we’ll be in every game with a chance to win.”
Not only did Georgia have a chance to win every game, but it walked away with three wins behind a powerhouse offensive showing. Home runs were crucial to the sweep for the Dawgs this weekend.
How many home runs did they hit in total? You guessed it. 13.
The Georgia Bulldogs were a notable team that utilized the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in an SEC-leading 16 transfers. The work in the portal has certainly paid off for the Dawgs.
Ryland Zabrowski (14) and Robbie Burnett hold the top two spots on the team for home runs. Burnett hit his 13th (as well as his 12th) in Gainesville this weekend. The Miami (Ohio) and UNC Asheville transfers are already making a mark this season and have propelled the Dawgs to a 24-2 record so far.
Oh! The pitching staff also held the Gators’ offense to… say it with me… 13 total runs.
The Dawgs are back at Foley Field Tuesday to host the University of West Georgia before they kick off another SEC rivalry matchup against Auburn this weekend.
