UGA’s hot start abates with lopsided losses

Kentucky exposes weaknesses in first SEC series of year.

ATHENS — At the start of each week throughout the regular season, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will take a closer look at the Georgia baseball team. Here’s a breakdown of the Bulldogs going into the fifth week:

Record: 17-4, 0-3 SEC.

Streak: Lost 3.

Last Week (1-3): Tuesday, beat Iowa 10-5; Friday, lost at Kentucky 16-10; Saturday, lost at Kentucky 9-3; Sunday, lost at Kentucky 12-2 (7).

This week: Tuesday vs. Wofford (13-4), 4 p.m.; Friday vs. Alabama (17-3, 2-1 SEC), 6 p.m.; Saturday vs. Alabama, noon; Sunday vs. Alabama, 1 p.m.

Week in review: After improving to 17-1 with a 10-5 win over Iowa on Tuesday,

the Bulldogs were swept in their SEC-opening series at Kentucky. And while there certainly is no shame in dropping a conference road series, the manner in which Georgia went down was alarming.

A lot of areas of weakness were exposed by the Wildcats, who improved to 17-3 after the sweep. Georgia has struggled to throw out runners all year, and Kentucky exposed that on its all-turf field, stealing on six of seven attempts. Opponents are now 30-of-34 on the basepaths.

Bulldogs pitchers issued seven wild pitches. And when the Wildcats got into scoring position, they tended to score. Eighteen of 30 runners in scoring position crossed the plate.

Compare that to Georgia, which was 3-for-25 with RISP. The Bulldogs were 2-of-12 on Friday and 1-of-9 on Sunday.

All-American Charlie Condon continues to be a bright spot. Kentucky refused to give him anything to hit all weekend, walking him five times and hitting him with pitches twice. But he scored just once and struck out twice on Sunday. Nevertheless, he carries a .521 average into the week.

Week ahead: Suddenly, Georgia’s a little desperate. Yes, there is a long way to go in the season, with nine more SEC series and a bunch of midweek games. But it’d take a sweep of Alabama this weekend just to pull back to .500 in the league.

As for the Crimson Tide (17-3, 2-1 SEC), they just took two of three from Tennessee in Tuscaloosa, losing 11-3 Friday night but winning 6-3 and 7-6 in the last two games.

First things first: The Bulldogs will host Wofford on Tuesday afternoon. The Terriers come in with a 13-4 record. First pitch was moved up to 4 p.m. to accommodate Georgia’s NIT basketball game vs. Xavier, which tips off at 7 p.m.

KARI HODGES/UGA ATHLETICS Georgia’s Charlie Condon was walked five times and hit by pitches twice against Kentucky. He enters the week with a .521 batting average.

MARY ALTAFFER/ASSOCIATED PRESS UConn guard Stephon Castle (right) averages 10.8 points and has been named Big East freshman of the week a record 11 times. Castle’s 3-point shot needs work, but the 6-foot-6 guard has shown enough this season to merit a first-round selection if he opts to enter the draft.