Diamond Dawgs Back On Track

If timing counts for anything, it’s well on the side of the Georgia baseball program right now.

A week ago, the Diamond Dawgs were reeling coming off a tumultuous road swing in Charleston.

Flash it forward to now, and Georgia has itself a nice shot in the arm just in time for conference play. The Dawgs beat up on Toledo over the weekend in their final non-conference weekend before SEC play, getting a 7-6 walk-off win on Saturday for the series sweep by way of an LJ Talley sacrifice fly to score Tucker Bradley.

Georgia, now 11-5, has won four in a and hosts Kennesaw State on Tuesday before opening SEC play next weekend at Alabama.

A 7-0 Friday win keyed by six strong innings from Chase Adkins in his first Friday start of this career started the series off strong. Wins of 8-3 and 7-6 on Saturday to wrap up the weekend were marked by Georgia’s bats coming to life with quality starting pitching also carrying the load as well.

Dawg Hits

Friday starter in place?

It’s critical in SEC play to have an established weekend starter, a guy that’ll put you in position for a Friday win and in position to win the weekend series on Saturday or Sunday. Adkins seemed to send a message that he should be given a strong look for that role. He pitched six innings, striking out nine - one short of a career high. Not only that, but he also allowed one hit and retired 16 Toledo hitters in a row.

Big Guns On Track

Consider the goal of getting Georgia’s big hitters back on track accomplished. Keegan McGovern helped lead the Georgia charge on Friday with two hits and an RBI. and Cam Shepherd registered a pair of RBIs on Sunday. Bradley also had two hits in Saturday’s first game to with scoring the game-winner in the nightcap.

Schunk Emerging

Not only did Schunk get the win in relief on Sunday, but he’s also well on the way to becoming one of the Dawgs top threats at the plate. Following the weekend, he now has an 11-game hitting streak. And the streak isn’t just alive from some cheap dying quail singles, either. In Saturday’s first game, his three hits included a two-run double in the first inning to help jumpstart the Georgia hitting attack.

Have a day, CJ

Count CJ Smith among those looking to carry momentum over imto SEC play. His three-run homer in Saturday’s second game was his first career round-tripper, putting the exclamation point on a four-hit day.

Pitching Into Position

The goal at this stage pitching-wise for Georgia seems to be for the starting pitching putting the Dawgs in position to win the game after six innings. That formula worked well during the weekend. In addition to Adkins on Friday, both Emerson Hancock and Ryan Webb were up to the task on Saturday. Hancock battled through six innings, fanning seven. Ryan Webb yielded just three hits and a run in five and two thirds of an inning in the finale.

Moving ahead

It’s worth some perspective to assess the weekend sweep in the big picture. This Toledo team has won three games all year, so anytime there’s a win over a team of that level, it’s worth not reading too much into it. The bottom line, however, is that Georgia did a lot of things well to build momentum, and the Dawgs also handed a team that on paper that they were expected to from the start.