Georgia-Texas Preview: Big Bats vs. Big Arms

By Jake Mastroianni

Two of the best teams in the country will face off in Austin this weekend as Georgia (29-2, 8-1) travels to face Texas (23-4, 8-1). Both teams are sitting at the top of the SEC standings while ranking third and fifth in our latest Top 25 poll. 

The Bulldogs currently have the longest active winning streak in the conference with nine straight wins, including sweeps of Florida and Auburn the past two weekends. 

As for the Longhorns, they had won six in a row before dropping a mid-week game to Texas State on Tuesday, 3-5. 

Both teams were missing arguably their top hitter during the mid-week as Georgia was without Tre Phelps and Texas was without Max Belyeu. The hope for Georgia is that Phelps will be back this weekend or shortly after, but it's bad news for Texas as Belyeu could miss the rest of the regular season with a fractured thumb.

Offensive Preview

There is no question that Georgia has thrived in the early portion of the season thanks to a powerful and dynamic offense. 

They rank second in the conference with a .324 average and have the most home runs by a large margin. But they also will work counts and get on base as they have drawn the most walks in the conference and hit by pitches. 

And their 45 stolen bases are tied for the fourth most in the SEC – they can beat you in a number of different ways offensively. 

Texas ranks just ninth in the conference with a .299 average, but they have the sixth highest slugging percentage thanks to 65 doubles, which is the second most in the SEC. They’re middle of the pack in walks and stolen bases. 

Both teams will strike out a good bit as they have the 3rd and 5th most strikeouts offensively in the conference. 

Hitters to Watch

Georgia

• Ryland Zaborowski is having a monster season, batting .448 with 14 home runs and 48 RBI. He hasn’t homered in the last four games, so he’s due. 

• Robbie Burnett has been just as dangerous with the power, belting 15 home runs and driving in 47 to go along with 27 walks and a team-high 11 stolen bases. He hit a pair of home runs in the mid-week game against Queens. 

• Slate Alford and Nolan McCarthy are also OPSing over 1.000 this year

Texas

• Ethan Mendoza is the fire starter at the top of the order batting .373 with 32 runs scored and 6 stolen bases. 

• Rylan Galvan leads the team with a 1.298 OPS and 9 home runs, but he got a little banged up in the Missouri series last weekend. He did play during the mid-week and should be fine for this weekend. 

• Will Gasparino had a huge series against Missouri with 4 home runs and 8 RBI. He followed that up with another home run during the mid-week game. 

Pitching Preview

This is where Texas hopes to have a huge edge in the series, as they rank 2nd in the SEC in ERA, while Georgia ranks 13th. However, the Bulldogs might be figuring some things out on the mound. 

The Texas pitching staff isn’t overly dominant as they’re just 14th in total strikeouts – granted they’ve played fewer games than most. However, they do a great job of keeping the ball in the park as they’ve allowed the fewest home runs. That will be put to the test against this Georgia offense. 

They’ve also issued the fourth fewest walks in the conference, and teams are hitting just .215 against them. Something that has hurt them at times is the defense, as they’ve made the sixth most errors. 

For Georiga, the pitching has not been what we expected with a 4.79 ERA and the fifth most home runs allowed in the SEC. They’ve flashed dominance at times with 311 strikeouts in 267 innings pitched, but the arms can be very erratic as they’ve issued the most walks in the conference. 

Pitchers to Watch

Georgia

• Brian Curley moving into the rotation has settled things down a bit. Over the past two weekends, he’s gone 5 innings in each, giving them some length that none of the other starters have been able to do consistently. It’s big-time stuff from the 5-foot-10 righty who has a 3.42 ERA and 0.93 WHIP on the year with 29 strikeouts in 23.2 innings. 

• Kolten Smith will likely move back into the rotation at some point, but he’s been amazing out of the pen. Against Auburn last weekend, he tossed 5 scoreless, hitless innings with 8 strikeouts. He hasn’t allowed more than 1 earned run in each of his last 6 appearances. 

• DJ Radtke (1.62 ERA, 0.90 WHIP) and Brian Zeldin (22 Ks in 17.2 IP) have been the other high-leverage bullpen arms for Georgia head coach Wes Johnson. 

Texas

• Jared Spencer (3.61 ERA, 1.31 WHIP), Luke Harrison (2.12 ERA, 1.35 WHIP), and Ruger Riojas (3.00 ERA, 0.97 WHIP) have become one of the best rotations in the country. 

• Riojas has been amazing over his last two starts, which came against LSU and Missouri. In those starts combined, he allowed just 2 earned runs on 9 hits with 16 strikeouts in 12.2 innings. 

• Freshman Dylan Volantis has quickly become one of the best stoppers in all of college baseball. The lefty has a 1.17 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 27 strikeouts, and 6 saves in 23 innings. 

• Max Grubbs (1.44 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) is another arm out of the pen who can give them length. 

Weekend schedule and probables (not confirmed)

Fri., April 4 at 6:30 pm CT (SEC Network+)

• Charlie Goldstein (6.92 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 16 Ks, 13 IP) vs. Jared Spencer (3.62 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 47 Ks, 37.1 IP) 

Sat. April 5 at 2 pm CT (SEC Network+)

• Brian Curley (3.42 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 29 Ks, 23.2 IP) vs. Luke Harrison (2.12 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 29 Ks, 29.2 IP)

Sun. April 6 at 1 pm CT (SEC Network+)

• Leighton Finley (6.66 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 26 Ks, 24.1 IP) vs. Ruger Riojas (3.00 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 36 Ks, 33 IP)