We are headed into week number 3 of SEC Baseball and through 2 weeks, we have already been given star-studded moments from the SEC.
From Hagan Smith striking out 17 of the 22 batters he faced, to several upsets in the SEC, we have been in for a treat already. One team that has not suffered any of these upsets and has kept their head down and grinding out wins, the Georgia Bulldogs.
A team that was picked to finish next to last in the SEC East, the Bulldogs have come out firing and began the season 8-0. Five of the eight wins for the Bulldogs have come by double digits, and the other two have come via a walk-off homer from centerfielder Dillon Carter on Saturday, and a walk off hit-by-pitch on Sunday afternoon.
The starting pitching for the Bulldogs has been a bright spot, as they currently support a 2.39 ERA as starting staff. The bullpen is something that needs work, as they have an ugly 5.97 bullpen ERA.
So why do I want to talk about Georgia? I think this lineup has all the potential in the world to continue to score a ton of runs as we continue towards SEC play. We all know the lineup is headlined by one of the best players in the country, Charlie Condon, but he has an outstanding support cast with guys like Baylor transfer Kolby Branch, Campbell transfer Logan Jordan, and Mississippi State transfer Slate Alford.
Sebastain Murillo is another name to watch as he has gotten off to a scorching start with a .429 average through the first 7 games. All of these names in the lineup makes for a tough day for whoever is on the bump against them.
The Bulldogs are going to need some veteran arms in their bullpen to step it up if they want to be real contenders in the SEC. Guys like graduate transfer Josh Roberge and homegrown product Kolten Smith to step up and giver the Bulldogs good innings out of the bullpen. Friday night started Charlie Goldstein is the anchor and leader of this staff, as he is entering his 5th and final season as a Bulldog.
If this team can figure out their bullpen pitching woes, watch out for Georgia to make a little unexpected noise once we begin SEC play in a couple of weeks.