Preview: No. 5 Georgia at No. 4 Auburn
No. 5 Georgia at No. 4 Auburn
WHERE: Plainsman Park, Auburn, Ala.
WHEN: Thursday 8 p.m., Friday 8 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 41-11, 21-6; Auburn 35-16, 16-11
STARTING PITCHER: Thursday – RH Joey Volchko (7-2, 4.44) vs LH Jake Marciano (4-4, 2.71), Friday – RH Dylan Vigue (4-1, 2.79) vs RH Andreas Alvarez (8-2, 2.66); Saturday – Tba vs RH Alex Petrovic (8-2, 3.15).
TV/RADIO: Thursday-Friday: SEC Network; Saturday: SEC Network+; Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler, David Johnston).
The Game
There will be no resting on any laurels this week when No. 5 Georgia closes out the regular season at No. 4 Auburn.
The Bulldogs clinched the SEC Championship last Saturday against LSU. But according to UGA skipper Wes Johnson, there’s plenty his team still has to play for.
“The message is really simple. Auburn’s coming in, and they want to put something on their wall that says they took down the champs, right?” Johnson said. “ And so, are you not going to go in there and compete? I don’t think the focus this week will be an issue. There’s enough out there for me to talk to our players about from the standpoint of you need to finish strong, and for a lot of reasons, right? I mean, we talk about a lot of things.”
It’s an intriguing matchup for sure.
Georgia leads the nation in home runs with 140, and is fourth nationally in hitting (.328). The Bulldogs are scoring 9.7 runs per game. No. 4 Auburn boasts what statistically is the best pitching staff in the SEC.
The Tigers are the only program in the SEC with an ERA of under 4.00, coming at 3.50.
“These guys are more like this may be the best staff when it comes to true pitch ability,” Johnson said. “They’re able to hit edges on the plate, throw the ball to corners, execute two-strike pitches, stuff like that, that we’ve played all year.”
Of course, there’s the matter of the seeding for the NCAA Tournament set to start two weeks from Saturday.
Georgia will host one of the 16 NCAA Regionals. The Bulldogs are also projected to be a top-eight national seed for the third straight year under Johnson. The question is, how high?
RPI plays a major part in the selection committee’s decision-making. However, according to the experts at D1Baseball, that won’t matter when it comes to Georgia.
By virtue of winning the SEC Championship, the outlet projects the Bulldogs to be the No. 3 seed, behind UCLA and Georgia Tech.
But Johnson doesn’t want to take any chances.
“You want to be playing your best baseball at the end of the year. You want to continue to find ways to get better and challenge yourself, and do hard things. So, there will be enough out there,” he said. “I don’t think focus will be our issue this weekend.”
No change in starting rotation
The Bulldog starting rotation will remain the same against Auburn.
Joey Volchko gets the start, followed by Dylan Vigue on Friday. Saturday is listed as a TBA, but depending on the first two games, Caden Aoki is expected to occupy the spot.
However, Johnson said he wants to see other pitchers receive their opportunities, too.
“We’re still going to throw our guys. It’s just different. I think the other thing, and I think we saw it a little with LSU,” he said. “We were in a situation where we wanted to try and get a couple of other guys in the game. That’s some things you’ll see, too, because you want some more guys to emerge.”
Don’t be surprised if Bryce Calloway is one of the pitchers you’ll see.
Calloway, limited strictly to hitting following December surgery to repair a double-hernia, saw his first action on the mound Sunday against LSU.
He wasn’t bad.
In one inning, Calloway allowed one hit and walked one with two strikeouts.
“I’m really excited about what I saw from Bryce Calloway. We’ve been seeing that in his bullpens; we saw it in the fall. We need to get some of those guys back out to see if we get in those situations, to see if we can get three outs,” Johnson said. “Sometimes you just need that bridge at a certain gap in the lineup; you’re like, can I give it to Calloway and feel good? Will he come in and throw strikes? He’s got four pitches, so he can bridge it and then I can get to (Justin) Byrd, then I can get to (Matt) Scott, or then I can get it to whoever.”
Look for more from Jordy Oriach
Johnson feels the best may still be ahead for Bulldog first baseman-outfielder Jordy Oriach.
The reason? He’s finally healthy.
“Jordy’s had a lot of nicks and dings that we haven’t been able to talk a lot about. He’s just starting to seem healthy,” Johnson said. “I mean, his hand’s good. His body’s good without getting into everything. So, you’re just seeing a healthy guy.”
Even with playing through some pain, the big lefty’s numbers have been impressive.
In 101 at-bats, Oriach has 31 hits with six home runs and 25 RBI. He’s struck out just 17 times.
“I thought his at-bats this weekend, especially Game Two, were probably his best four at-bats of the year that we piled together in the game,” Johnson said.
This and that
…Georgia junior catcher Daniel Jackson, a National Player of the Year candidate batting .384 with 25 home runs, 74 RBI, and 24 stolen bases, aims to become just the sixth player (and first catcher) in NCAA Division 1 history to have 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season. The last to do it was UNC outfielder Vance Honeycutt (28-28) in 2024. Currently, there are only two players in NCAA Division 1 who have hit at least 20 HR and 20 SB this year: Jackson and Farleigh Dickinson sophomore OF Hunter Ray (27-23).
He is the first catcher in SEC history to post a 20-20 season and just the fifth overall player in the history of the league. Before Jackson, the last SEC player to register a 20-20 season was Arkansas outfielder Andrew Benintendi (20-24) in 2015, when he swept all the national honors.
…Jackson ranks in the top five nationally in Home Runs (25), Total Bases (166), RBI (74), and Runs Scored (71). He is on the Midseason Watch Lists for the Golden Spikes Award and the Buster Posey Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award. At No. 14 Arkansas, he tied a school record by hitting three home runs in a game. He hit .429 with seven RBI in the road series win over the Razorbacks to earn SEC Co-Player of the Week honors. He followed that up by hitting .400-1-3 plus 3 SB in a road series win over No. 17 Ole Miss. In SEC action, Jackson is batting .373-9-30.
…Junior third baseman Tre Phelps (.372-17-47) ranks second in the nation with a school record 30 Hit-By-Pitches. He is fifth in Runs Scored (70). Earlier this year, Jackson had a team-best 21-game hitting streak while Phelps carried one over from last year that stretched to 27, one game shy of the school record.
…Sophomore center fielder Rylan Lujo (.361-8-36) leads the league with a .402 batting average in SEC games, and he’s got a .670 slugging percentage in SEC action too.