ATHENS-----Georgia opens Southeastern Conference play with 14th-ranked South Carolina visiting Foley Field for a three-game series starting Friday at 6:02 p.m. on SEC Network+ and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

The Bulldogs (13-4) began the week by snapping Wofford’s nation’s longest winning streak of 14 games, outlasting the Terriers 10-8 Tuesday. The Gamecocks (17-1) bring an eight-game winning streak to Foley Field. Their lone defeat came to rival Clemson March 3 in Clemson; however, the Gamecocks took the series two games to one.

Series History: USC leads the all-time series with Georgia 67-66 in records dating to 1896. The road team has won the last three series (Georgia swept in 2019; USC went 2-1 in 2021 and Georgia went 2-1 in 2022). At Georgia, Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin is 17-7 against the Gamecocks. USC eliminated Stricklin’s Kent State squad 4-1 at the 2012 College World Series but not before the Golden Flashes ousted top seeded Florida.

Bombs Away: Georgia posted the highest batting average among SEC teams last week at .360, going 4-1 against Georgia Southern and Charleston Southern. The Bulldogs were 64-for-178 with 10 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs. In a 10-8 victory over Wofford Tuesday, the Bulldogs smacked 16 hits including four home runs to snap the Terriers national best 14-game winning streak.

For the year, the Bulldogs are batting .337 with 41 home runs. South Carolina boasts plenty of power with an NCAA-leading 48 home runs and a .308 batting average plus it ranks seventh nationally in drawing walks with 117 and second nationally with 51 hit by pitches.

Georgia redshirt-freshman OF/1B Charlie Condon (.531-8-34) ranks among the national leaders in batting and RBI while graduate OF Connor Tate (.507-7-24) is not far behind. Condon has hit safely in 16 games while Tate has a 22-game hitting streak dating to last year. Tate was named one of Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week along with SEC Co-Player of the Week on Monday while Condon received SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors after being the SEC Player of the Week on March 6.

Weekend Rotation: On Friday, the Bulldogs will start junior LHP Jaden Woods (3-0, 2.60 ERA) while USC counters with junior RHP Will Sanders (2-1, 3.86 ERA). Georgia’s Saturday starter junior LHP Liam Sullivan (3-0, 0.44 ERA) leads the SEC and ranks among the national leaders in Earned Run Average. For the year, he has allowed just one earned run 20.1 innings with six walks and 27 strikeouts. He was part of a combined one-hit shutout of Charleston Southern Saturday, tossing five hitless frames. USC will start senior RHP Noah Hall (3-0, 2.59 ERA) on Saturday. The Bulldogs have not named a Sunday starter while the Gamecocks will hand the ball to junior RHP Jack Mahoney (2-0, 3.00 ERA).

The Bulldogs have a 5.13 ERA while holding opponents to a .230 batting average. The staff has registered 197 strikeouts with 79 walks. USC sports a 2.55 ERA (ranks fifth nationally) with its opponents’ batting average at .196 with only six home runs allowed. USC tallied 188 strikeouts with 48 walks.

Tickets/Parking/Promotion Information

*A limited number of tickets are available in the Left Field Bleachers and in the Right Field Bleachers.

*Fans with tickets who are unable to come are encouraged to transfer them to other Bulldog fans, return them to UGAAA or resell them on StubHub.

*Foley Field Gates open one hour before game time.

*Free parking is available in the commuter surface lot behind the outfield.

*Friday: The first 500 students receive a Georgia Trucker Hat

*Saturday: The first 500 fans receive an Emerson Hancock jersey

*Sunday is Family Fun Day: Kids can participate in Anthem Buddies before the game and Run the Bases after the game.

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