ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia’s baseball team did itself a major favor with last weekend’s sweep of Auburn, helping the Bulldogs vault forward in the SEC standings.
With two series left in the regular season, the Bulldogs (28-21, 12-12 SEC) are still in the running for one of the higher seeds in the upcoming SEC tournament, where they were barely in the tournament’s 10-team field before taking all three games against the Tigers last weekend.
“There is a whole lot of good things going on, and it's a lot of fun getting back to .500 in the SEC,” Georgia coach David Perno said of completing the sweep against Auburn. “… We had a tough road stretch with Florida and LSU and finally got to come home and get some wins.”
The Bulldogs have one final chance to continue that home success -- the Bulldogs are 22-11 at Foley Field overall and 8-4 in SEC play -- this weekend.
Georgia’s biggest home series of the season starts Friday when No. 3 South Carolina (37-12, 16-8), the two-time defending national champion, visits Athens. The Gamecocks are tied with No. 4 LSU (38-11, 16-8) for the best record in the SEC, a game better than No. 9 Kentucky (38-11, 15-9) and two up on No. 5 Florida (36-13, 14-10).
The Bulldogs are tied with Mississippi State (30-18, 12-12) with a .500 league mark, a half-game ahead of No. 13 Arkansas (34-16, 12-13) and a full game ahead of both Vanderbilt (24-24, 11-13) and No. 24 Ole Miss (31-18, 11-13).
Georgia has all but guaranteed itself one of the 10 spots in the SEC tournament, holding a five-game lead over last-place Alabama (18-30, 7-17) and a four-game advantage over Tennessee (24-24, 8-16) with six games remaining. The Bulldogs will complete the regular season next week with a three-game series at Alabama.
In other words, there is still plenty of room for Georgia to move either up or down in the SEC tournament seedings depending on how they fare over the next two weekends. They are tied for fifth entering the South Carolina series and could potentially catch Florida or even Kentucky, but they could also tumble behind Arkansas, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt or Ole Miss if they struggle against the Gamecocks and Crimson Tide.
Here are a few SEC series in the final two weekends that could greatly impact the league’s final standings:
• LSU at South Carolina. The teams currently tied for the league lead will meet for a three-game series in Columbia starting next Thursday. LSU has all but clinched first place in the SEC West, but the Gamecocks’ lead in the East is nowhere near as secure.
• Ole Miss at Vanderbilt. This will probably be a series worth watching for Georgia fans next weekend, as both teams are just a game behind the Bulldogs in the standings. Vanderbilt has a tough series this weekend at LSU, but the Commodores enter on a three-game winning streak and have won two out of three in their last two SEC series against Kentucky and Tennessee.
• Kentucky at Mississippi State. The Wildcats host Alabama this weekend, so they could still be in the running for the SEC East title when they travel to Mississippi State to close the season. The Bulldogs are typically tough at home and are 8-4 in SEC play there this season. Kentucky has been one of the league’s top teams throughout the season, but has slumped a bit lately, dropping two of three in its last two SEC series against Florida and Vanderbilt.
With two series left in the regular season, the Bulldogs (28-21, 12-12 SEC) are still in the running for one of the higher seeds in the upcoming SEC tournament, where they were barely in the tournament’s 10-team field before taking all three games against the Tigers last weekend.
“There is a whole lot of good things going on, and it's a lot of fun getting back to .500 in the SEC,” Georgia coach David Perno said of completing the sweep against Auburn. “… We had a tough road stretch with Florida and LSU and finally got to come home and get some wins.”
The Bulldogs have one final chance to continue that home success -- the Bulldogs are 22-11 at Foley Field overall and 8-4 in SEC play -- this weekend.
Georgia’s biggest home series of the season starts Friday when No. 3 South Carolina (37-12, 16-8), the two-time defending national champion, visits Athens. The Gamecocks are tied with No. 4 LSU (38-11, 16-8) for the best record in the SEC, a game better than No. 9 Kentucky (38-11, 15-9) and two up on No. 5 Florida (36-13, 14-10).
The Bulldogs are tied with Mississippi State (30-18, 12-12) with a .500 league mark, a half-game ahead of No. 13 Arkansas (34-16, 12-13) and a full game ahead of both Vanderbilt (24-24, 11-13) and No. 24 Ole Miss (31-18, 11-13).
Georgia has all but guaranteed itself one of the 10 spots in the SEC tournament, holding a five-game lead over last-place Alabama (18-30, 7-17) and a four-game advantage over Tennessee (24-24, 8-16) with six games remaining. The Bulldogs will complete the regular season next week with a three-game series at Alabama.
In other words, there is still plenty of room for Georgia to move either up or down in the SEC tournament seedings depending on how they fare over the next two weekends. They are tied for fifth entering the South Carolina series and could potentially catch Florida or even Kentucky, but they could also tumble behind Arkansas, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt or Ole Miss if they struggle against the Gamecocks and Crimson Tide.
Here are a few SEC series in the final two weekends that could greatly impact the league’s final standings:
• LSU at South Carolina. The teams currently tied for the league lead will meet for a three-game series in Columbia starting next Thursday. LSU has all but clinched first place in the SEC West, but the Gamecocks’ lead in the East is nowhere near as secure.
• Ole Miss at Vanderbilt. This will probably be a series worth watching for Georgia fans next weekend, as both teams are just a game behind the Bulldogs in the standings. Vanderbilt has a tough series this weekend at LSU, but the Commodores enter on a three-game winning streak and have won two out of three in their last two SEC series against Kentucky and Tennessee.
• Kentucky at Mississippi State. The Wildcats host Alabama this weekend, so they could still be in the running for the SEC East title when they travel to Mississippi State to close the season. The Bulldogs are typically tough at home and are 8-4 in SEC play there this season. Kentucky has been one of the league’s top teams throughout the season, but has slumped a bit lately, dropping two of three in its last two SEC series against Florida and Vanderbilt.
David Ching | email
Reporter, DawgNation- Reporter for DawgNation
- Covers Georgia Bulldogs sports and recruiting
- Joined ESPN in 2011
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David Ching
David Ching came to ESPN.com in 2011 after six years covering UGA for the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer and Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald. He lives in Athens. Email him at davidchingespn@gmail.com.
Radi Nabulsi
Radi Nabulsi joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering the University of Georgia for Rivals.com for four years and for the UGA Athletic Association since 1993. Nabulsi is a graduate of the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and lives in Athens. He can be reached at radinabulsiespn@gmail.com.
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Kipp Adams joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering University of Georgia football and basketball recruiting for five years at Rivals.com. He lives in Sandy Springs, Ga., and enjoys spending time with his two sons. He can be reached at kippadamsespn@gmail.com.
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