Diamond Dogs Open Home Slate Tomorrow

Georgia's Diamond Dogs kick off their home schedule tomorrow at Foley Field against Presbyterian at 5 p.m. Tickets are $8 or $5 for general admission.

And as a quick primer for the game and the season, here are some "fast facts," courtesy of the UGA Athletics Dept...

The Bulldogs play their home opener Wednesday, Feb. 24 against Presbyterian at 5 p.m. Live streaming video of the game will be available to GXtra subscribers. Wednesday’s game will start a four-game homestand. Georgia’s longest homestand this year is five games. Georgia will play 27 games on the road. Next week, they face Alabama in Birmingham and then head to Florida State.

Georgia (2-2) opened a season on the road for the first time since 2002 and came away with a 2-2 mark against host Baylor and Duke. Georgia played four games in three days including a doubleheader on Sunday. Georgia went 1-1 versus Baylor and 1-1 versus Duke.

Georgia’s starting lineup featured five sophomores and four freshmen in three of the four games this past weekend in Waco, Texas. Five of the 13 pitchers who saw action were newcomers.

UGA sophomore CF Zach Cone batted an impressive .688 in the weekend tournament at Baylor (11-for-16) including hitting for the cycle in Saturday’s loss to Duke. He was the first Bulldog to hit for the cycle in six seasons (Josh Smith vs. UNC-Wilmington). He tied his career-high with a pair of four-hit games and played flawless defense with six putouts and two assists in the series.
UGA sophomore LF Johnathan Taylor nearly matched his RBI total from his freshman season. He drove in seven runs to go with a .357 average in the four games plus drew six walks, stole two bases, registered seven putouts and one assist. Last year in 123 at bats, Taylor hit .309 with 10 RBI.

UGA SS Kyle Farmer led the freshmen starters with a .375 average (6-for-16, 3 doubles) in the season-opening tournament. He played solid defense with five putouts, 18 assists and one error.
The Bulldog lineup was missing two starters this past weekend in first baseman and cleanup hitter Chase Davidson (elbow injury) and second baseman Levi Hyams (out for the first six games due to violation of team rules). Davidson is listed as day-to-day.

Georgia is 7-0 all-time versus Presbyterian including a pair of wins (8-1, 11-4) last season at Foley Field. The Blue Hose (1-2) fell to Appalachian State and USC Upstate on Friday and Saturday before bouncing back with a 3-2 win over USC Upstate in their home opener Sunday. Junior 2B Mack Hite leads PC at .417-0-1, going 4-for-4 Sunday. A Blue Hose is a fierce, Scottish warrior -- think Braveheart.

Georgia plans to get several pitchers work Wednesday with junior RHP Eric Swegman scheduled to start. It will be his Bulldog debut. Swegman, a 6-6, 208-pound native of Cumming, Ga., was a 28th round draft pick by Atlanta in 2009. Last year at Young Harris Junior College, he went 7-2 with a 4.59 ERA in 13 starts. PC will start senior RHP Jesse Harmon (0-0, 0.00 ERA).