Huge series this weekend with South Carolina. The Gamecocks seem to have risen to the top of the tightly-packed SEC this year, and it will be a very challenging series. If Georgia can win the series, they’ll be over .500 in the league and in great position to make both the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. But to get there, they’ll have to overcome some bad trends. Georgia hasn’t won a home SEC series all year and are just 2-7 in home league games. South Carolina has also owned Georgia lately, sweeping them several times.

If the Dawgs are going to have success this weekend, it’s likely going to begin with the starting pitching. South Carolina has some potent bats, but Georgia has been excellent in Friday and Saturday starts recently. Westphal and Brown are the two most recent SEC Pitchers of the Week and have each thrown very well in the past two series. One bad rain-interrupted inning against Tennessee by Westphal is the only blemish. Sunday pitching has been a bit of a different story, and Perno will have to find an answer there. Westphal and Brown are going to have to go deep into their games, or it will be a very long weekend.

Offense has been a concern in SEC home games, and getting only three or at most four runs a game is a big reason for the 2-7 home SEC mark. Georgia’s bats have woken up lately, though. Offensive explosions against Georgia Tech and Florida came after a few changes to the batting order, and hopefully that can continue against a better pitching staff this weekend. Jonathan Wyatt has been on a tear since moving to the leadoff spot. Josh Morris is one home run away from tying Georgia’s career home run record.