Although not every devoted Georgia fan also is a baseball fan, I am hopeful that interest in the national pastime is peaking in Bulldog Nation now that the Braves’ season is underway. Accordingly, I offer the following brief baseball recap. For the conference-wide perspective, be sure to check out "Around the Bases" every Tuesday morning.
In the wake of last weekend’s series loss to L.S.U., the Diamond Dogs dropped to eighth in Baseball America’s weekly poll, in which the Bayou Bengals check in at No. 2. That seems fair to me. For what it’s worth, Arizona State checks in at No. 1 and upcoming Georgia opponent Arkansas is ranked twelfth thanks to a 10-2 record in league play, despite the fact that the Razorbacks have yet to face a team ranked in Baseball America’s top 25. Georgia Tech is No. 13, Ole Miss is No. 14, and Florida fell out of the rankings altogether.
The Classic City Canines are one of three conference clubs sporting 8-4 records on the diamond, the other two being the Louisiana State squad that just got the better of the Red and Black at Foley Field and the Mississippi team that hosts Georgia in Oxford on the last weekend in April. The Bulldogs lead the Eastern Division by a game over the second-place Gators with more than half of their 30-game S.E.C. schedule yet to be played.
Finally, due to anticipated low temperatures in Athens, tomorrow night’s baseball game against Winthrop has been postponed and the two teams will play a Wednesday doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m. Please note that the rescheduling of Tuesday’s game occurred because we’re expecting snow flurries in Georgia in April. Whatever happened to that global warming I’ve been hearing so much about lately?
Go ‘Dawgs!