No. 10 Kentucky Seeks Fourth SEC Series Win Against Struggling Georgia in Athens

Not much has gone wrong for No. 10 Kentucky in the 2023 season. Head coach Nick Mingione has his team trending directly upward midway through his seventh season at the helm, putting the Wildcats on track to ending a long postseason drought.

After stomping past non-conference opponents to begin the season, UK has continued to keep its foot on the gas pedal to open SEC play, winning eight of its first nine games against conference foes — sweeping Mississippi State and Missouri at home while winning two of three on the road at Alabama.

Kentucky is No. 1 in RPI, owns a top-five strength of schedule and has won 22 of its last 23 games overall. That streak won't last in a league that's projected to get 10 teams into the NCAA Tournament, but that isn't stopping the most surprising team in the SEC. Mingione has continuously praised his team's ability to stay focused on the task at hand and taking everything game-by-game.

That strength is going to get put to the test over the next nine days, as the Bat Cats are set to play seven games on the road in that span. The headliner comes at the end of the trip, as three games in Baton Rouge against No. 1 LSU await. Before then, a clash against No. 18 Louisville will serve as the toughest midweek opponent all season, by a long shot.

What comes first on the docket appears to be the easiest three games of the bunch on paper, as Kentucky is set to take on the struggling Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. After beginning the season at 15-5, SEC play has not been kind to the Diamond Dawgs.

No. 6 South Carolina went on the road and swept UGA, Auburn took two of three on The Plains while No. 4 Vanderbilt won all three last weekend in Nashville, giving 10th-year head coach Scott Stricklin's squad a 1-8 SEC tally and now a 16-13 overall record.

The poor start in-conference comes just one year after Georgia managed 21 SEC wins — tied for the most in any season under Stricklin. It doesn't take too long to figure out why life has been so rough against capable opponents.

A team-earned run average of 6.45 is 13th in the SEC and 186th in Division I. The Georgia pitching staff is allowing an average of 8.6 runs a game in conference play. South Carolina plated 12 runs on two occasions, while Vandy put a 16-spot on the board. Auburn managed six or seven runs in all three of its games against the Dawgs. A pair of lefties — Jaden Woods and Liam Sullivan — serve as capable starting arms, but things get shaky beyond that point.

Woods — UGA's slated starter for the series-opener on Friday evening — has taken a loss in each of his three starts in SEC play, but has pitched into the sixth inning in each outing and thrown at least 90 pitches. Vandy roughed him up for eight earned runs last weekend, but he managed just three earned and 11 strikeouts across seven innings against SC.

Sullivan — the projected starter for game two on Saturday — sports a 3.77 ERA in seven starts, but is yet to make it through five complete innings against conference foes. The 6-foot-6 junior fired seven scoreless in a win over Princeton early in the season.

Kentucky will counter with its usual starting rotation, though its Friday-night hurler is still yet to be determined between Logan Martin and Darren Williams. Martin has been recovering from a non-arm related injury that has limited him to just two innings in SEC play, which came at Alabama. He was available to pitch last weekend against Missouri, but it was the veteran Williams who first toed the slab instead.

Weekend probables:

FRIDAY: UK – TBD; UGA – LHP Jaden Woods (3-2, 5.30)
SATURDAY: UK – LHP Tyler Bosma (4-1, 4.18); UGA — LHP Liam Sullivan (3-1, 3.77)
SUNDAY: UK – RHP Zack Lee (3-0, 2.65); UGA - TBD

At the plate, Georgia is a middle-of-the-road hitting team batting .301, which is seventh in the SEC. It does find plenty of extra-base hits, having racked up 65 doubles and 52 home runs — 30 more than Kentucky. A powerful trio do most of the damage.

Right fielder Charlie Condon is hitting .449, which ranks second in the SEC. His .531 on-base percentage is fourth and his .832 slugging percentage is sixth. The redshirt freshman has exploded for 11 home runs and 41 RBIs. Getting him out will be quite the challenge for Kentucky's pitchers.

Fifth-year Bulldog and fellow corner outfielder Connor Tate is also mashing, slashing .414/.504/.776. He's also collected 11 four-baggers. 24 of his 39 hits this year have gone for extra bases.

While not acquiring nearly as impressive numbers, first baseman Parks Harber is hitting over .300 and has slugged nine big flys, helping lead to 33 RBIs, the second-best mark on the team.

Kentucky will look to continue its offensive onslaught, as it run-ruled Mizzou in two of its three wins over the Tigers last weekend. It scored nine runs in two innings against Dayton on Tuesday.

First Baseman Hunter Gilliam's hit streak is now 22 games. He's reached safely in all 28 games that he’s played. The hit streak is the second-longest at UK since 2005, one behind Gunnar McNeill’s 23-game streak in 2016. Center fielder Jackson Gray has reached safely in 20 consecutive games, catcher Devin Burkes has done so in 18 straight, while shortstop Grant Smith's stretch is currently at 17 in a row.

Weather is expected to be a factor at Foley Field in Athens all weekend, as heavy rain is forecasted. The start time for game one on Friday has been pushed up to 5 p.m. EST, with Saturday and Sunday's games still slated for the early afternoon. Having to play two seven-inning games as a doubleheader on one day is a very real possibility.

Friday and Saturday's game are scheduled to air on SEC Network+, while Sunday's is set to air on the main SEC Network.

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