UGA, Tech match offensive firepower

Pride, bragging rights on line for baseball rivals.

The latest chapter in the storied rivalry known as Clean Old-fashioned Hate gets written this weekend.

Next up is baseball. Geor- gia and Georgia Tech will play three games on three diamonds, beginning at 6 p.m. today at Foley Field in Athens. At 2 p.m. Saturday, they’ll meet at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, they’ll go head- to-head at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville for the annual Spring Baseball Classic that benefits Children’s Health- care of Atlanta.

Tickets remain on sale for the last one. The on-campus competitions are sold out.

As always, there’s a lot on the line — mostly pride bragging rights.

“It’s a series that our players look forward to, and I know our fans look forward to,” Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said. “It’s kind of an SEC primer for us, and ACC primer for them. But I think both teams will tell you this is the biggest series of the year just because of the in-state rivalry. There’s a lot of emotions both ways.”

Georgia (6-2) is particularly motivated after losing two of three last season, includ- ing an 11-7 decision in Athens. The Bulldogs’ 12-3 win at Coolray Field snapped a four-game losing streak in the series.

Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets (9-0) are riding high. After a 5-4 win over Kennesaw State on Wednesday,

Tech is off to its best start since 2016.

Conversely, the Bulldogs have struggled at times. They lost the opener to Jackson- ville State and dropped a 12-11 decision to Princeton on Sunday. In between were a lot of runs scored but some suspect pitching.

Georgia will try to get a handle on that today when Jaden Woods takes the mound. The junior lefthander rebounded from a shaky outing in the opener with an 11-strikeout win over Princeton last Friday.

Moving into the Bulldogs’ No. 1 starter role from the bullpen, Woods struggled initially to get his breaking pitch over for strikes. That seemed to get resolved between appearances.

“I think it was just kind of the jitters and I guess being out there for the first time,” Woods said.

Three weeks in, Woods is getting the ball in arguably the biggest game of the year.

“I guess it’s a big game, with the rivalry and all that,” he said with a grin. “But I feel like ... you’ve got to treat it just like it’s any other game and go out there and compete. It’s still baseball.”

Both teams come in with plenty of offensive firepower. Led by Charlie Condon (.556) and Connor Tate (.452), the Bulldogs have hit 17 home runs and are averaging 10 runs a game. Meanwhile, Tech has two hot hitters in Jackson Finley (.545) and Jack Rubenstein (.500) and is averaging 11.6 runs a game.

“They’re scoring a lot of runs, and if you look at the numbers, both teams are pretty similar,” Stricklin said. “Both teams are pretty offensive-minded, and both pitching staffs have had some shining moments and some room for improvement.”

As for the never-ending rivalry, the Bulldogs were the latest to draw blood, beating the Jackets in softball 8-0 last week. Before that, Georgia won in football, women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s tennis; Tech won in men’s