When Georgia baseball hosts Lipscomb this week, there’s a high probability that many runs will be scored.
The Bisons lost their most recent game, a road defeat at Tennessee Tech, but they’ve scored 10 or more runs in each of their last three games. They average seven runs per game, and have one player, sophomore outfielder Michael Gigliotti, hitting above .400, while three others are above or near .300.
Lipscomb’s hitting is backed up by strong pitching. Georgia is set to face Cody Glenn, Jeffrey Passantino and Brady Puckett this weekend. Only one of them, Glenn, has an earned run average higher than 3, and even his ERA of 5.27 is inflated because of two rough starts earlier this season.
The trio has thrown a combined 50 strikeouts and allowed six total walks.
“We just need to have a good approach and take the walks when they come along, get good pitches to hit and quit swinging at pitchers’ pitches,” Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said.
The Diamond Dogs have recently found a nice groove at the plate, notching 23 hits in their last three games. More importantly, they’ve scored runs.
Georgia is 2-1 in its last three games, but even Tuesday’s 10-5 loss to Charlotte exhibited the Diamond Dogs’ propensity to get on the board. Sophomore Keegan McGovern said the key to breaking past Lipscomb’s starters is continuing their recent work.
“We're just gonna have to keep on doing how we've done the past couple of games,” McGovern said. “I think we're starting to swing the bat well, taking better approaches at the plate. Just try to get our pitch to hit and getting ready to hit it, and we're gonna be fine.”
Series information:
Georgia versus Lipscomb
Foley Field
Friday: 6 p.m.
Saturday: 2 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m.
SLOW OUT OF THE GATE
There’s no questioning Robert Tyler’s ace status.
The junior has racked up 28 strikeouts in 17 innings. He’s given up eight hits and walked three batters. His opponents have torn just three earned runs off him.
But Tyler’s last two starts have featured less-than-stellar first innings. For example, Tyler allowed two hits and one run to South Alabama in the opening frame two weeks ago. He allowed an early run to Wright State last Friday.
Although Tyler rebounded immediately to throw overall gems in each of those games, he still would rather not have to take extra time to settle in. He said his pregame warmups need to improve.
“One of the biggest things for me is not bringing how I'm throwing in the bullpen back into the game,” Tyler said. “If I don't throw well in my pregame bullpen, I might bring that out. Especially when we played South Alabama, I wasn't throwing well at all in the pen and then that first inning I came out here and was all over the place.”
Stricklin agreed with Tyler, saying he thinks modifications to his warmup period, such as throwing a few more pitches, could help him be sharper earlier in his starts.
If Tyler is off a bit in his first inning this week, it could be enough to get Lipscomb rolling. The Bisons’ ability to rack up runs should present a challenge to Tyler and any other pitchers who face them.
Tyler said if he’s going to have success against Lipscomb, then he’ll need to maintain his routine.
“Honestly, I just kind of pitch to my strengths,” Tyler said. “I don't really try to change anything with who we're playing. I just go out there and throw my game and then go from there.”
Stricklin admitted he’d rather see Tyler look stronger in the first inning, but he isn’t too concerned. He mentioned Tom Glavine as an example of a great pitcher who needed time to get going during his starts.
“[Tyler’s] just had the ball up in the zone a little bit as we've started early on, but he's settled in pretty quick,” Stricklin said. “Overall, he's been awfully good.”
MCGOVERN LOOKING FOR A HIT
McGovern began the 2016 season in remarkable fashion. He quickly reached 10 RBIs, then added to his total and now sits at 14. McGovern blasted three home runs in the first eight games, matching his total from last season.
He was on fire at the plate, but it was abruptly extinguished six games ago. McGovern went 0-for-4 against Charleston Southern on March 2. He’s recorded one hit since then.
McGovern said he’s adjusting his swing a bit in hopes of breaking out of his slump.
“I've been looking at film and we've been working in the cage,” McGovern said. “It's just a little thing: starting to get my load earlier is one of the main things. I'm starting my load a little bit late, getting beat on the inside. I think, once I get that down, hopefully I'll start hitting the ball well again.”
Though he’s on a six-game hitless streak, McGovern has still gotten on base, drawing five walks the last six games. He also got hit by a pitch against Charlotte earlier this week.
McGovern didn’t care about getting hit – getting on base allowed him to help.
“When you're not hitting the ball, you want to try to get on base any way you can – getting hit, walked – just trying to help out the team,” McGovern said. “I guess it's something you have to do when you're not hitting the ball as well as you'd like to.”
Stricklin said he’d rather McGovern get hits again, but he’s encouraged by McGovern’s ability to get on base. He praised McGovern’s work ethic, too, pointing out that McGovern got to Foley Field about an hour early Thursday to take swings in the batting cage.
Stricklin said McGovern’s early success pegged him as a key batter to get out for Georgia’s opponents. Once McGovern gets past that, Stricklin says his slump will end.
“He's the guy that's circled; when people have scouting report meetings right now, he's the guy that has the most RBIs and got some home runs,” Stricklin said. “They're being cautious with him, and he has to understand that, but he has to be patient to get his pitch.”
