The NC State Wolfpack head down to Athens Ga to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in a matchup between ACC/SEC schools. The Wolfpack have a 40-20 overall record while going 18-11 in the ACC. The Bulldogs have an overall record of 39-22-1 while winning the SEC regular season title with a 20-9-1 record.
The Wolfpack are led by Ryan Pond who hit .332 on the year with eight homers and 45 RBI. Marcus Jones and Pat Ferguson are tied for second place in hitting with .327 average. The pitching staff is led by Clayton Shunick and Eric Surkamp. Shunick led the starting pitchers in ERA at 2.12 while going 7-5 on the year. Surkamp has a 5-2 record with a 4.39 ERA and was expected to be one of the better left handed pitchers in the college games. The final starting pitcher is Eryk McConnell who is a converted closer who made 13 appearances while starting nine games where he accumulated a 4-2 record with a 5.07 ERA. Jimmy Gillheeney has become the closer this season for the Pack with 21 appearances including 10 saves where he has a 1.12 ERA.
The Bulldogs are led by first round picks Gordon Beckham (8th overall to Chicago White Sox) and Josh Fields (20th overall to Seattle Mariners). Beckham led the team with a .397 average while hitting an outstanding 24 homers while driving in 65 runs. Rich Poythress has been the second best hitter for the Dogs on the year with a .364 average and hitting 15 homers while only behind Beckham by one RBI with 64 on the year. Bryce Massanari is also a potent bat in the lineup with a .346 average with ten homers and 59 RBI. Stephen Dodson leads the starting pitching staff with a 5-4 record and a 4.41 ERA which is extremely high for the ace of a college baseball staff. The other two starting pitchers are Trevor Holder who went 7-4 with a 4.60 ERA while Nathan Moreau went 4-2 with a 4.93 ERA. The Bulldogs have one of the top closers in the country with Joshua Fields who is 2-2 on the year with a 2.27 ERA and 16 saves on the year.
The biggest issue for the weekend will be whether the Bulldogs pitching staff can hold down the NC State offense as the Wolfpack starting pitchers are deeper then the Dogs while UGA has a more experienced back end of the bullpen.
