Head coach Dave Van Horn and his No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks (31-3, 11-1 SEC) will open a top-10 series against the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs (30-5, 8-4 SEC) and head man Wes Johnson on Friday evening at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia.
Arkansas swept a bad Missouri team at home last weekend and outscored the Tigers by a score of 51-9 across the three seven-inning games in the process. Georgia entered last weekend ranked third in the nation, but the Bulldogs dropped to seventh after being swept on the road at Texas.
Both teams earned midweek victories Tuesday, with the Hogs earning a 7-3 win over Arkansas State and Georgia picking up a 16-2 run rule win over Presbyterian. These two teams rank near the top of the SEC and the nation in most hitting categories.
"Georgia can really score," Van Horn said Thursday. "They’ve got 92 home runs, somewhere in there, lead the country. No lead is safe. You’ve got to know that when you’re playing them. Just play. It’s different. They had a beautiful grass surface last time I was there and many times I was there.
"I was kind of surprised they went to turf just because of how nice it was but I know they had to go underneath the outfield to bring in some power and different things to their new facility. But they play on turf now. We’re used to that. We played there against Vandy. But it’s a different game when you play on turf a little bit. Yeah, it’ll be a good series. It’ll be a real good series."
Georgia leads the nation with 92 home runs, while the Hogs are tied for fourth nationally with 74 longballs. The teams are back-to-back in the national rankings in on-base percentage, as the Bulldogs check in at No. 3 (.453) and the Hogs are No. 4 (.449).
Designated hitter Rylan Zaborowski paces Georgia and ranks second in the SEC with a .424 batting average. He is tied with Robbie Burnett for a team-high 15 homers on the year and the pair also have 51 runs batted in each. Burnett also has 11 stolen bases and he's been hit by 17 pitches this year.
“It’s going to be an interesting series because if you two teams that are kind of alike, in a way if you really look at it, and then we are on the road so advantage Georgia," Van Horn said. "But this is going to be another tough challenge on the road for our team and I just really look forward to seeing how we handle it.”
The Bulldogs will start junior right-handed pitcher Brian Curley opposite of Arkansas ace Zach Root, who has logged two quality starts of at least seven innings over his last three outings.
Below are details on how to watch, BetSaracen betting lines, links to stream and links to all of our coverage leading up to the game...
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How to Watch/Listen
Who: No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks (31-3, 11-1 SEC) at No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs (30-5, 8-4 SEC)
When: Friday, April 11 at 5 p.m. CT
Where: Foley Field — Athens, Georgia
TV/Stream:SEC Network+ / Watch ...
