College baseball series of the week: No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 13 Florida

An all SEC matchup takes place this weekend as the No.13 ranked Florida Gators host the No. 4 ranked Georgia Bulldogs.

Florida enters the contest with an 18-5 record overall, and an 0-3 record within the SEC having been swept by No. 1 Tennessee earlier in the season.

Georgia boasts a 21-2 record overall, going 2-1 against SEC competition by winning 2/3 games against Kentucky.

Florida’s quality opponents

While it never feels good to lose, Florida’s losses have only come against winning teams this season. Three losses to Tennessee and one loss a piece against The University of Miami and the University of Central Florida.

Their best win of the year is handing No. 5 ranked Florida State one of their two losses on the season.

Seven of their twelve opponents boast winning records, but a big weekend series win could propel their standing in the Top 25.

Georgia’s thin competition

While having a better record, some of Georgia’s opponents have been less than quality. Georgia has played no Top 25 teams compared to Florida’s two, and many of Georgia’s opponents have losing or barely winning records.

It’s a big series for Georgia to prove their schedule is not a fluke and take down a ranked opponent on the road.

Florida’s player to watch

Florida’s offense carries some serious firepower with four players hitting over .370 and six with an OPS above 1.000.

Brody Donay leads the way as the team’s best hitter with a triple slash of .373/.500/800. Just an insane start to the season. He also leads his team with eight homers through 22 games.

Their best starter has been Liam Peterson with a 4-1 record and a 2.16 ERA across five starts. In 25 innings pitched he has racked up a ridiculous 42 strikeouts.

Georgia’s players to watch

Georgia has many standout players from first round projected picks to a transfer hitting the cover off the ball.

Tre Phelps is a projected top 20 pick in this year’s draft, and has been off to a good start this season. He has a triple slash of .318/.451/.545 which is actually down from last year, but he has a slew of SEC competition to play against to try to match his offensive output from last season.

After spending three years at UNC Asheville Robbie Burnett transferred to Georgia for this baseball season.

Across 23 games he has an OPS of 1.606 with 11 home runs. If he can continue this tirade the rest of the year he could be receiving some major awards for his performance.

Carter Brooks is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him please email him at cjb7448@psu.edu.