Spring Break
Diamond Dogs ready for Rebels
MICHAEL FITZPATRICK
Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: Sports
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Before heading into a three-game road trip against No. 13 Ole Miss, the Georgia baseball team made a pit-stop in Jacksonville, Ala., to play Jacksonville State, a team Georgia was favored to beat.
But it didn't, as a six-run fourth inning propelled the Gamecocks to a 9-7 victory before the Diamond Dogs' toughest test of the season.
As the race for the top seed in the SEC conference tournament heats up, Ole Miss sits half a game behind LSU in the Western Division and sits two games behind Georgia for the overall conference lead.
"It's a big weekend, it really is," senior pitcher Trevor Holder said. "The rest of them are huge from here on out, but this series has so much emphasis because Ole Miss is on top in the west and they pitch well and it's a huge series on the road and in a tough and hostile environment."
A tough environment indeed, as Ole Miss is expecting record crowds much like what Georgia saw earlier in the season when it swept Mississippi State. But head coach David Perno has emphasized the need to remain focused.
"Ole Miss has much better pitching than Arkansas and we just need to remain focused," Perno said.
The Rebels' pitching staff ranks third in the SEC with a 4.02 ERA and will have to deal with the prolific Georgia offense that ranks in the top three in nearly every statistical category and is led by the two, three and four-hole hitters of Colby May, Rich Poythress and Bryce Massanari.
"They are some bangers and they can hit," Holder said. "It's a huge jolt with [Matt] Cerione at the top, then those three to pick each other up. That's that main thing we are trying to do here is pick each other up. And when those three are hitting, somebody is going to get a good swing on the ball."
Poythress is in the middle of a monster offensive year, as he is second in the SEC in home runs (20) and ranks first in the NCAA in RBIs (67). And for May and Massanari, hitting before and after Poythress, respectively, has its pros and cons.
"It helps out a lot and his numbers scare a lot of teams," May said. "I get a lot more fastballs to hit, and it helps me to have a lot of success."
Added Massanari: "I think it put a little more pressure on me because if I'm not performing he's not going to get anything to hit. But I wouldn't want to be in any other situation. I love hitting behind him and he's putting up huge numbers and it's fun to watch."
The Dogs will be without star reliever Michael Palazzone, who remained in Athens. The freshman from Marietta has what the team is calling a tired arm and Perno felt it would be beneficial to leave him behind.
"He's tired, and his velocity is down a bit and he's tired," he said. "He needs rest, he could go, but it will help us in the end to leave him here. But being where we are, it's easier to leave him and get him ready for the Florida and Vanderbilt series."
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