Bulldogs Baseball Preview: At the Plate

Georgia Baseball season is just around the corner, getting underway this Friday at Foley Field as the Diamond Dawgs take on Albany (2:00 p.m. ET). If you are thinking about giving Georgia Baseball a try, I encourage you to do so. If you’ve already decided that it’s worth a shot, then you’re in the right place as DawgsHQ builds up to Opening Day with previews of the three aspects of baseball: on the mound, in the field and at the plate. In case you missed it, yesterday’s preview discussed Georgia’s defense while Tuesday’s featured the Bulldog pitchers. Today we wrap things up by breaking down what UGA brings to the table at the plate.

Corey Collins

Corey Collins might be the most exciting hitter in Georgia’s lineup, knocking eight home runs out of the park last season while leading the team with 37 RBIs. Named to the All-SEC Freshman Team, Collins held down the designated hitter spot for the Bulldogs most of 2021 and likely will do so again in 2022.

His college career got off to a big start with a home run on Opening Day last spring, followed by one more in the midweek game against Georgia State. In the first 10 games alone, Collins had seven RBIs. Less than a month later, he had nine in a span of three games against Georgia Southern and Lipscomb, hitting home runs in back to back games against the Bison. Collins cooled off some in SEC play with just one RBI in the first seven conference games, however big performances against Vanderbilt (four RBIs in three games), a career-high four-RBI outing versus Kentucky and multi-RBI games against Clemson, Ole Miss and Arkansas cemented his strong season. All in all, Collins had 10 multi-hit games with a total of 22 extra base hits.

“Corey Collins, Fernando Gonzalez and Parks Harber all played a bunch as freshmen last year. They’re going to be in the middle of things,” Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said about his strong group of sophomores. “The thing about freshmen is, when they come back as sophomores, they learn how to breathe a little slower and blink a little softer. When you’re a freshman, sometimes you get jittery sometimes. You don’t know what to expect. They’re more comfortable now in their own skin.”

Connor Tate

If Collins is the most exciting hitter, Connor Tate would probably be classified as the best hitter on the team. He led Georgia in batting average and home runs last season, nearly completing the triple crown with RBIs too before missing a few games down the stretch. Tate, back for a fifth year, hit .344 with 65 hits including 17 extra base hits with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs. He scored 32 runs on his own as well.

Big performances out of Tate included earning National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and SEC Player of the Week from the league after hitting .578 (7-for-12) with two doubles, three home runs and six RBIs in three games at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs beat the then-No. 1 ranked team in the country in Nashville that weekend. Furthermore, he was part of back-to-back-to-back home runs not once, but twice. The first time against Lipscomb was the first time it had been done at UGA since 1987. The second time came in a 14-2 rout of Vanderbilt. Tate posted 17 multi-hit games including five three-hit games and a career-best five-hit, five-RBI game against Gardner Webb. He also provided the walk-off winner against Lipscomb in the 12th inning.

“Connor had an unbelievable year last year. I couldn’t believe he didn’t get drafted,” teammate Jonathan Cannon said about Tate. “He’s back and he’s gotten even better. I don’t know what’s in store for him, but I think it’s going to be nothing but good things.”

Others

Collins and Tate are just a small part of the lineup you can expect to see this season for Georgia. With decisions being based on things like matchups against a pitcher (i.e. lefty or righty) or play in the field, several names are going to factor into things for the Bulldogs in 2022. Ben Anderson will likely be in the leadoff spot as he looks to bounce back from what was a disappointing season at the plate for him, hitting just .206 with 17 RBIs and 18 extra base hits. However, he did manage to score 36 runs which tied for the team-high.

Josh McAllister could hit anywhere from the two-hole to the five-hole with a nice all-around approach when he’s at bat. McAllister hit .333, which would have been second on the team had he met the requirements to qualify, with 51 hits, 31 runs and 29 RBIs. Chaney Rogers, who started the majority of games at first base last season but could also play right field if needed, is kind of in the same boat where his spot in the lineup could be determined by a multitude of factors. Rogers tied with Anderson for the team-high in runs scored while hitting .278 with 54 hits and 32 RBIs. He likely will split time at first base with Parks Harber who came on strong once healthy at the end of the season with 19 RBIs on 27 hits.

Others that’ll be in the lineup but have spots up for grabs as far as where they’ll hit are Cory Acton (SS), Cole Tate (2B) and Fernando Gonzalez (C), while Garrett Blaylock, Buddy Floyd, Randon Jernigan, Shane Marshall, Garrett Spikes and Luke Wagner all could have important at bats at some point during the season if they are in the game for one reason or another.

“I think one of the most encouraging things has been seeing Cory Acton transfer over from Florida. He’s going to be a force in the top of our lineup and play second base,” Cannon said when asked who has impressed him so far going against the Bulldogs at bat. “I think guys continue to get better. Guys like Chaney, Cole Tate, Connor Tate … Top to bottom, I think everyone got a little bit better this fall. This lineup is going to be a really tough lineup for opposing pitching staffs.”

Georgia and Albany set set for a three-game series this weekend with first pitch on Friday coming at 2:00 p.m. ET. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET with the Sunday finale at 1:00 p.m. ET. All three games can be seen on SEC Network+.