ATHENS – The No. 23-ranked Georgia Bulldogs are going to be without their skipper at least one more game.
Baseball coach Scott Stricklin, who has missed Georgia’s last seven games while recovering from COVID-19, will not travel to Clemson for Tuesday night’s 6:02 p.m. game (ACC Network). While Stricklin has been quarantined the prescribed amount of time recommended by the SEC’s medical guidelines, he is still exhibiting symptoms 11 days after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Stricklin intended to join the team in College Station, Texas, this past Saturday before experiencing a resurgence of symptoms. Now the hope is that the Bulldogs’ sixth-year coach will be able return to the dugout for this weekend’s three-game series against South Carolina at Foley Field.
Georgia has struggled in Stricklin’s absence. The Bulldogs (16-7, 2-4 SEC) dropped two of three games to both Tennessee and Texas A&M in conference play the past two weekends. In between they were able to scratch out a 3-2 extra-inning win over Kennesaw State on March 23.
Getting healthy has been an issue for Georgia all year. Starting pitchers Ryan Webb and Jonathan Cannon both missed multiple games due to illnesses and have been on pitch counts until recently. Left-hander C.J. Smith has been sidelined the last two weeks with arm issues and freshman slugger Corey Collins (.319, 4 HRs) missed three games with a pulled hamstring before returning this past weekend against Texas A&M.
All the while, Georgia has remained competitive. After falling to the Aggies 6-3 on Friday, the Bulldogs carried a lead into the ninth on Saturday before losing 7-6 and rallied for a 6-4 victory on Sunday.
Now comes a road trip to Clemson. The Tigers (12-9) are riding a five-game winning streak that includes an ACC road sweep of Boston College this past weekend.
UGA and Clemson have been playing baseball since 1900. The Tigers lead the series 122-107-2. The teams didn’t play in 2020 but Bulldogs have won the past three meetings. The last one made history, a 3-2 victory in 20 innings at Foley Field in 2019 on Connor Tate’s walk-off single. It was the longest game by innings and time (6:33) for the Bulldogs and Tigers. Currently, Tate ranks second on the team in batting at .356 plus has three home runs and 15 RBI.
Tonight, Georgia left-hander Charlie Goldstein (0-0, 6.00 ERA) will start and go against Clemson’s Carter Raffield (0-1, 5.91). UGA junior infielder Josh McAllister (.361-5-13) will carry a 17-game, reached-base-safely streak into the contest.
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