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With an embarrassing loss to North Carolina on Wednesday night South Carolina fell to 28-6 (10-2 SEC) and is down a spot to 3rd in the NCAA RPI. The Gamecocks continue their stretch of games on the road as they try to rebound in Athens this weekend against the Bulldogs. South Carolina has lost to Georgia the past two seasons, but the Gamecocks hold a 63-53 advantage in the all-time series.
South Carolina's sweep of Tennessee last weekend, combined with Florida's series loss to Mississippi State, allowed the Gamecocks to take a two-game lead for first in the SEC. The Gamecocks have a good opportunity to maintain that lead this weekend as they are once again facing one of the weaker teams in the conference.
| SEC East | SEC West |
| South Carolina (10-2, .833) | Mississippi State (8-4, .667) |
| Florida (8-4, .667) | Texas A&M (7-5, .583) |
| Kentucky (8-4, .667) | Alabama (6-6, .500) |
| Vanderbilt (7-5, .583) | LSU (6-6, .500) |
| Georgia (4-8, .333) | Ole Miss (6-6, .500) |
| Missouri (4-8, .333) | Arkansas (4-8, .333) |
| Tennessee (3-9, .250) | Auburn (3-9, .250) |
Georgia is 18-16 (4-8 SEC) and 47th in the NCAA RPI. They Bulldogs lost their first two SEC series to Kentucky and Mississippi, but pulled off a series win against Alabama. Last week Georgia began an absolutely brutal stretch of their schedule by getting swept in College Station by the Aggies. After hosting Carolina this weekend, the Bulldogs travel to Florida and Vandy. Even the midweek games are a challenge for the Bulldogs in April, as they have home-and-home rivalry matchups with ranked Clemson and Georgia Tech teams. The Bulldogs lost their first game against Clemson on April 5th, but are coming into the weekend off of a Tuesday win over Georgia Tech.
| South Carolina | Georgia | |
| Batting Average | .297 | .253 |
| On-Base % | .387 | .344 |
| Slugging % | .415 | .356 |
| ERA | 2.97 | 4.51 |
| Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio | 2.88 | 1.83 |
| Fielding % | .979 | .967 |
The Bulldogs are one of the bottom three teams in the conference by nearly every major statistical measure, while the Gamecocks remain one of the top teams in the conference. Carolina's offense has cooled down a bit as two of the best hitters (Jones and Destino) have struggled with shoulder issues, but the lineup has still been solid for the most part. Georgia's offense is led by Skyler Weber, who is hitting .318 with 19 RBI, and Keegan McGovern, who is hitting .275 with a team-leading 25 RBI. While the Bulldogs have actually been hitting a little better in SEC play, their offense as a whole has been underwhelming this season. South Carolina's team ERA slipped out of the top ten in the country after Wednesday's debacle, but the Gamecock pitching staff should be able to handle the Bulldog offense this weekend.
Clarke Schmidt will start for the Gamecocks in his usual Friday spot. The sophomore RHP has a 1.77 ERA and an SEC-leading 70 strikeouts along with just 10 walks. Freshman right-hander Braden Webb will take the mound on Saturday. His ERA is 2.17 and he has 63 strikeouts and 24 walks this season. Adam Hill will be the starter in the series finale. The freshman has a 2.87 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 13 walks.
Junior right-hander Robert Tyler will take the mound for Georgia on Friday night. Tyler has a 2.78 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 23 walks. The Saturday starter for the Bulldogs will be Connor Jones. The junior lefty has a 5.73 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 23 walks. The Sunday starter for Georgia is TBA.
Game 1, Friday
When: 7 p.m.
How to Watch: SEC Network +
How to Listen: 107.5 The Game
Game 2, Saturday
When: 6 p.m.
How to Watch: N/A
How to Listen: 107.5 The Game
Game 3, Sunday
When: 1 p.m.
How to Watch: SEC Network +
How to Listen: 107.5 The Game