Georgia Baseball set to open SEC play against No. 23 Kentucky

The No. 4 ranked Georgia Bulldogs will open SEC play this weekend as they face the No. 23 ranked Kentucky Wildcats. This matchup features two teams that have taken care of business very well to open their respective seasons. The Dawgs and the Cats have a combined record of 32-3 in 2025. Georgia is riding the momentum of a 16-game winning streak, and Kentucky has solidly handled its competition. While both teams are winning, they do so in starkly different ways.

Kentucky has pitched very well in its non-conference slate to open the season. The pitching staff from Lexington boasts an ERA of 1.89, a WHIP of 1.00, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of over three-to-one. The top two starting pitchers for Kentucky, Nic McCay and Ben Cleaver, have eaten up 42 and 2/3 innings for Nick Mingione’s team and have a combined batting average against of just 0.138.

Georgia on the other hand, has seen its starting pitching struggle. Veterans Leighton Finley and Charlie Goldstein have combined to pitch only 22 innings with a combined ERA of 4.93 and a staggering 14 walks. Georgia’s bullpen has been lights out and has kept it in ball games, but that is no thanks to the holes that the starters, other included in addition to Finley and Goldstein, have put the Dawgs in.

One reason Georgia has only lost one game on the season despite some abysmal starting pitching efforts is that their lineup is flat-out dangerous. Georgia sports a .315 batting average, 46 homers, 193 runs, and a slugging percentage of .591. Those marks are good for 35th, 2nd, 4th, and 8th in all of NCAA Division I, respectively.

Transfers Ryland Zaborowski and Robbie Burnett are leading the way for Georgia and rank first and second on the team, respectively, in batting average (.442 & .362), home runs (10 & 9), RBIs (36 & 27), and slugging percentage (1.096 & .914). Nolan McCarthy, a transfer from Kentucky who had much to do with the Wildcats’ trip to the College World Series a year ago, has also come on as late for the Dawgs. The Georgia centerfielder has hit three homers this month already.

Kentucky has been average at the plate against below-average pitching. As a team, Kentucky is batting .295, with only 16 homers, scoring 133 runs, and slugging .471. Those numbers rank the Wildcats 83rd, tied for 114th, tied for 52nd, and 79th nationally in those respective categories.

Both teams have made their share of errors on the season. Georgia has committed 15 errors in its 20 games, while Kentucky has committed 13 in 15 games. The ability to play clean defensively and to control the running game on the bases will play a major factor in this contest of conflicting styles. Kentucky steals just over three bases per game, and Georgia steals 1.5 per game.

Both of these Omaha hopefuls desire to open up SEC play with a series victory. Georgia has the advantage of hosting the series at Foley Field in Athens,, and the first pitch of game one is Friday at 6:00pm EST.