Georgia Baseball @ Florida State Series Preview

Feb 18, 2014; Dunedin, FL, USA; Baseball lie on the infield as the Toronto Blue Jays workout at Bobby Mattick Training Center. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

After dropping their first series of the year to Georgia Southern and then losing an exhibition 10-7 to Kennesaw State this week the Bulldogs are going to have to go on the road to take on No. 4 Florida State.

This one could get really ugly because FSU is really good and Georgia’s pitching has been really bad so far.

Here are the pitching matchups with Georgia pitchers listed first and FSU second:

• Friday, Feb. 21 (4:00 p.m.) – Ryan Lawlor (4.50 ERA/ 6 IP/ 3 Ks/ 2 BBs) vs. Luke Weaver
• Saturday, Feb. 22 (2:00 p.m.) – Sean McLaughlin (21.60 ERA/ 1.2 IP/ 2 Ks/ 1 BB) vs. Brandon Leibrandt
• Sunday, Feb. 23 (1:00 p.m.) – Patrick Boling (3.38 ERA/ 2.2 IP/ 1 K/ 1 BB) vs. Mike Compton

While the only terrible number for those starters is McLaughlin’s ERA, the Dawgs as a whole started the season pretty poorly on the mound. The team has a 6.50 ERA and opponents are hitting .363 against them. Obviously those numbers are going to come down, but it is certainly enough to be worried about.

Especially when you take a look at the early offensive numbers FSU is putting up. They are hitting .346/.494/.531 during their first four games and 18 of their 45 hits so far have been of the extra base variety.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how UGA responds in this series, but I wouldn’t get too excited for a series win. Florida State is just a much better team. If the Dawgs can make the series close and show some improvement on the mound, it should be considered a success for them, at least in my mind.

For more information be sure to follow us on twitter (@ATLBeatBlog) and check back on Sunday for a series recap.