We just relaxed out there and had fun tonight,” said Fields. “We didn’t want to start out 0-6 like last year, we wanted to come out and get a W and we did. Everyone contributed and I was able to help so I’m excited about that.”

The Dawgs didn’t wait to long to make their statement. I’m talking, first inning early, as they jumped ahead with four runs off Arizona starting pitcher, Preston Guilmet. By the third inning they padded their lead to the tune of 6-2 before the Wildcats returned the favor and scored three runs of their own to make it 6-5 in the fourth off of starter Trevor Holder.

Guilmet was lifted after four innings, marking his shortest stint in two seasons but his defense let him down at times. He toughed it out for a loss, giving up eight runs in the process, only half of which were earned. Holder earned the win, going five innings and saw five runs (three earned) on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

In the fifth, Georgia took an 8-5 lead. After back-to-back walks to Rich Poythress and Matt Olson, the impromptu hero Fields put down a bunt and reached safely for his first hit as a designated hitter this season. Sophomore Joey Lewis earned an RBI with a bases-loaded walk (kinda cheap, but it’s still an RBI) and junior Adam Fuller picked one up on a fielder’s choice. (more…)

And who could ask for a better first pitch? Our Diamond Dogs open against the top rated foe in the nation in Arizona. The series kicks off on Friday and runs until Sunday (Feb. 22-24). Opening day will kickoff at 5 pm, followed by Saturday at 2 pm, and Sunday at 12:30.

But before all of that gets here we have scimmages to finish. On Friday, six Bulldog pitchers will see action. They include: junior Trevor Holder and freshman Justin Grimm will start with Justin Earls, Joshua Fields, Steve Esmonde and Ryan Woolley appearing in relief.

The SEC’s 12 coaches took a vote on Thursday and Vandy was the predicted favorite to repeat as 2008 SEC baseball champions. The Commodores, ranked as high as No. 3 nationally in the preseason polls, are returning eight of their starters and four pitchers from their 2007 team that earned the numero uno seed in the NCAA Tournament but fell short in making it to the College World Series.

In addition to picking a preseason SEC champion, the league’s head coaches voted a predicted order of finish in the SEC Eastern and Western Divisions. In the East, Vanderbilt was the favorite followed by South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. Ole Miss was the favorite in the West followed by Mississippi State, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU and Alabama. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. (more…)

In the meantime, another college baseball poll was released recently. And, God Almighty! We actually made it past the 40’s this time. In fact 24th in Perfect Game Crosschecker’s preseason ranking of the nation’s top 100 college teams for 2008. And just like in the previous poll, Arizona, the Bulldogs season-opening opponent, earned the No. 1 spot in the poll.

PG Crosschecker is the on-line scouting wing of Perfect Game USA, the world’s largest independent baseball scouting service. Crosschecker will continue to rank the nation’s top Division I college teams throughout the 2008 season by providing weekly rankings of the top 50 teams, beginning Feb. 25.

Georgia will resume preparations for the 2008 season on Feb. 1. The Bulldogs have one of their most challenging schedules ever as they open the season on Feb. 22 in Athens at Foley Field against the top-ranked Wildcats. After the Arizona series, Georgia will face the Atlanta Braves in an exhibition contest in Orlando at Champion Stadium on Feb. 27 at 1:05 p.m. After the Braves game, Georgia travels to Portland, Ore., for a three-game series against two-time defending national champion Oregon State.

I don’t have any insightful game analysis. I have yet to watch the game again and I didn’t pay super close attention to the game after somewhere around the middle of the first quarter, or when I realized what was about to happen. You already know what happened. We were focused. We were stronger. We were faster. A workman-like destruction of a team that was overwhelmed from the beginning. I can’t remember feeling that concerned for an opposing quarterback’s health since we left Auburn’s Gabe Gross a bloody heap in 1998.

I’ll give my final football thoughts after the national title game, then, hallelujah! it’ll be time for Georgia baseball! See y’all then.

Since Georgia’s football team was staying at the Riverside Hilton across the street from Harrah’s, Bulldogs senior running back Thomas Brown was considering trying his hand at the slots a couple of times.

That is, until Georgia Coach Mark Richt put the quietus on any visits to the casino while his team is in New Orleans.

“Whether you’re in New Orleans or Miami, those are probably the two places that you can go to and find trouble,” said running backs coach Tony Ball, who coached in the Sugar Bowl with Virginia Tech in the 1999 and 2004 seasons. “If you’re in Arizona, there ain’t a whole lot to do in Arizona. I’ve been out there and there wasn’t a whole lot to do there. You could potentially run into difficulties in New Orleans. That’s why they call it Sin City.”

Georgia players, as in past years, will have curfews that get earlier as the game draws closer. Hawaii coach June Jones also has set times that his players must be back at the team hotel. Jones, whose team is staying at the Canal Marriott, also just a few yards from Harrah’s, made no specific anti-casino bans, telling them instead to use “good judgment” in visiting the places they should and shouldn’t be familiarizing.

Good job Jones. Everyone knows what that means. And if he doesn’t know what they heard, then this is exactly what his words translated to in Collegian, err Collegigon?, um Collegiate:

“I give you full permission to make the worst possible choice of your entire life thus far. So, what are you waiting for? Have at it.”

Bad June, bad.

I love covering baseball much, much more than covering football. Don’t get me wrong, I love football season; nothing beats a Saturday in Sanford. But, it seems everyone and their mother likes to blog on college football and our baseballers (baseballees?) don’t get the love they deserve. Until now.

This particular opening day shouldn’t be one to disappoint either. Our young Bulldogs open up at home against the nations top foe, Arizona. The teams last met in the 2004 College World Series when the Bulldogs eliminated the Wildcats.

Arizona has been ranked No. 1 in “Collegiate Baseball” newspaper’s “Fabulous 40” pre-season NCAA Division I baseball poll, the publication announced Friday. Meanwhile, Georgia did not crack the newspaper’s top 40 (#41 - does that still count for something).

(more…)

• Premieres on FSN South on Monday, December 24 @ 7:30 p.m. ET
• Debuts on SportSouth on Wednesday, December 26 @ 10 p.m. ET

FSN South and SportSouth will televise the Georgia Bulldogs BCS Preview Show, highlighting the Bulldogs’ match-up against the Hawaii Warriors in the 74th Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic. Hosted by Natalie Taylor, the 30-minute special previews the Bulldogs’ January 1 game against the Warriors and includes a one-on-one interview with Georgia head coach Mark Richt and a feature on freshman sensation Knowshon Moreno. In addition, SEC expert Dave Neal provides an overview of both squads’ 2007 seasons and FOX Sports BCS analyst Charles Davis offers a breakdown of the match-up.

The Georgia Bulldogs BCS Preview Show will be televised at the following times:

FSN South, the nation’s largest regional sports network, reaches more than 12 million homes in seven states in the Southeast. SportSouth reaches 9 million cable and satellite subscribers across a six-state region. Through its affiliates and other Fox Networks Group-owned networks, FSN reaches more than 82 million homes through 22 regional networks. Headquartered in Los Angeles, FSN owned or affiliated regional sports networks serve as the TV home to 64 of the 82 MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United States.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CySmFGxU6Bk

Sorry, I wish I could embed it. I tried but it didn’t work.

BTW, 13 days, 23 hours, 31 minutes, 53 seconds until Georgia vs. Hawaii.

I’ve given this thought and I believe Georgia is not, I repeat, NOT national title caliber. We lost our two games for a reason: we are and STILL ARE a young team. I believe Georgia talent-wise is up to title caliber par, but after it’s all said and done, I don’t think Georgia (that means you Stafford) would be able to handle the pressure of the big game.

Now LSU, I have one thing to say to you, before you get on that high horse of yours, I don’t believe you are the right team for this title as well. That’s right. You may have beaten the SEC but that sure doesn’t mean you can beat the nation. You barely won about 80% of your games. I believe it was USC that deserved a bid to play the Buckeyes, not you. They were just too high in the polls to catch up.

I guess what just sets me off was how the pollsters played Georgia like a sap, putting us at #4 and teasing us before stripping us of our rank so the Tigers could get in. That’s wrong, let alone pointless.

LSU, you only got in because of your name. Count your blessings