This week we look at an SEC vs. Big Ten battle when No. 20 Minnesota heads to Athens, GA and will face the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs twice. Georgia started on a roll winning their first 11 games before losing their only game of the season to No. 13 UCLA last weekend. Minnesota was a bit shaky the first few weeks, mostly due to inconsistency from their number two and three pitchers. Last week they did win all five games including a 10-1 win over No. 19 Arizona State. All in all this game(s) sets up to be a good one.
Minnesota is very tough when their ace Sara Groenewegen (7-2) is in the circle. Groenewegen is a strikeout pitcher and currently sits at No. 5 in the nation with 83 and has a 1.93 ERA. She will face a good hitting Georgia team that enters the weekend with a .411 team batting average. They are not hitting for a ton of power, but they get one base and the team has speed. Depending on how coach Allister approaches the weekend, it does set up as to where Groenewegen could get both starts. Georgia has two solid pitchers they can throw at the Gophers in Brittany Gray (5-1) and Chelsea Wilkinson (7-0). Gray comes into the weekend with the better ERA of the two at 1.77 compared to Wilkinson’s 2.60. Both stat lines are close as well. We would guess that they each get a shot against the Gophers.
Offense is where Minnesota can be inconsistent at times. Last weekend they looked good outscoring their opponents 42-14 and scoring five or more runs in each of their five games. Leading Minnesota is Sam Macken who is hitting .412 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI. keep an eye on Freshman Maddie Houlihan who is hitting .314 with four home runs and 14 RBI. Minnesota is good at moving runners and generating runs. They also have a few hitters who are off to a slow start including Groenewegen (.258) who has been one of their better hitters the past two seasons.
Georgia on the other hand has looked very consistent at the plate and have outscored the opposition 133-34 so far this season. Matter of fact six of their nine everyday players are batting above .400 and all are above .300. Leading the Bull Dogs is Maeve McGuire who is batting .500 and a .565 on-base percentage. Senior Kaylee Puailoa is off to a hot start as well hitting .475 with three home runs and 24 RBI. She had just 27 RBI all of last season. Tina Iosefa is the other power threat for Georgia and comes into the weekend batting .344 with three home runs and 22 RBI. That is not to mention the speed of the Emanuel sisters Sydni and Cortni. Sydni is hitting a .487 clip with .556 OBP while Cortni is batting .463 with a .542 OBP. We could go on and on, but this line-up has hitters and speed. Both of which can be dangerous.
It would be big for Minnesota if they can get two wins, but that may be a tall order. Most likely we see a split in the two games.
