ATHENS, GA.------The Georgia Bulldogs face top-ranked Tennessee starting Thursday in Knoxville. Game times are 7 pm ET Thursday (ESPNU), then at 5:30 pm ET on Friday (SEC Network) and 1 pm ET on Saturday (SECN+). The entire series will be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

Georgia is ranked as high as No. 22 (USA TODAY Sports Top 25 Coaches) in the major polls plus has the nation’s No. 9 RPI. The Volunteers (43-6, 20-4 SEC) have already clinched the Eastern Division crown. Last year, Georgia went 3-4 against teams ranked No. 1, winning a road series over Vanderbilt, dropping two of three at Arkansas and then lost to the top-ranked Razorbacks at the SEC Tournament.

Georgia is batting .289 with 57 home runs while posting a 5.50 ERA and a .977 fielding percentage. The Volunteers are batting .306 with 115 home runs, a 2.26 ERA and a .980 fielding percentage. UT is 31-2 at home and coming off their first series loss of the season, dropping two of three at Kentucky. The Bulldogs are 8-8 on the road. Georgia trails in the UT series 124-119 in records back to 1909. UT has won the past two series 2-1 in Knoxville in 2019 and in Athens last year. Georgia last won a series over the Vols in 2019 (2-1 in Athens) and last won one in Knoxville in 2017 (2-1).

Junior RHP Jonathan Cannon (9-1, 2.38 ERA, 64.1 IP, 58K, 6BB), who is on the Golden Spikes Midseason Award watch list, leads the SEC in victories after picking up his ninth Saturday beating No. 14 Vanderbilt.  In SEC action, Cannon leads the league with a 6-0 mark and 2.37 ERA in six starts. In his Bulldog career, Cannon improved to 16-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 28 appearances including 22 starts. The only Bulldog to ever lead the SEC in victories in a season was two-way star Derek Lilliquist in 1987. That year, he went 14-3 with a 2.24 ERA, 7 CGs and hit .300-19-63 in leading Georgia to its first College World Series. He was a first round pick of the Atlanta Braves as a pitcher (6th overall) and enjoyed an eight-year MLB career and later was an MLB pitching coach for St. Louis and Washington. Georgia’s rotation for the UT series will feature junior RHP Nolan Crisp (1-3. 5.17 ERA) on Thursday followed by Cannon on Friday and sophomore LHP Liam Sullivan (3-3. 4.91 ERA) on Saturday.

Bulldog graduate LF Connor Tate (.354-9-49) leads the team in batting this season and has been even better in SEC action at .386-6-23. He has a team-best 21 multi-hit games this year and currently owns an eight-game hitting streak. Against Vanderbilt, he batted .583 (7-for-12) with three doubles, a home run and seven RBI. His twin brother, graduate SS/3BCole Tate (.317-2-16) returned to action in the VU series after missing 13 games with a stress fracture in his leg. Tate started all three games at third base and had perfect fielding in three total chances while going 1-for-8 at the plate as he played around six innings each game. He is cleared to play all nine innings each game in this series.

Probable Pitching Matchups: UGA vs. UT G49    #11 Nolan Crisp (1-2, 4.72, RHP, RJr.) vs. Chase Dollander (6-0, 2.66 ERA), RHP, So.

G50    #12 Jonathan Cannon (8-1, 2.04, RHP, Jr.) vs. Blake Tidwell (1-1, 3.18 ERA), RHP, So.

G51    #14 Liam Sullivan (3-2, 5.12, LHP, So.) vs. TBA

LiveStats Link for UT Road Series: https://utsports.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Georgia Baseball Radio Links/TV Stream

Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Announcers: Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)

Free audio streaming of all Georgia Bulldogs games can be heard using the Gameday LIVE app.

Optimized for iOS7+ and Android 4.0+, Georgiadogs.com Gameday LIVE is now available for both smartphone and tablet in App Store and Google Play marketplaces. Georgiadogs.com Gameday LIVE is the official mobile application of Georgia athletics. Get the app here: georgiadogs.com/wireless/.

Thursday Pregame Radio Show at 6:40 pm ET: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4179&type=Live

Friday Pregame Radio Show at 5:10 pm ET: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4180&type=Live

Saturday Pregame Radio Show at 12:40 pm ET: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4181&type=Live

SEC Network+ TV Links

ESPNU/SEC Network (Announcers: Dave Neal & Kyle Peterson); SEC Network+ (Announcers: Andy Brock & TBA):

Thursday ESPNU Link: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=4f2b67a4-a6e6-44a2-9c37-8353842b2a60

Friday SEC Network Link: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=94467538-b9ca-4489-9ef9-695ec6236188

Saturday SEC Network+ Link:  https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=27c12951-020c-4b8b-a1a8-a942ada95ebe

FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS: For the latest Georgia baseball news, visit www.georgiadogs.com and follow the Bulldogs on Twitter (@BaseballUGA), Facebook (@GeorgiaBaseball) and Instagram (@baseballuga).

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