UGA to face No. 1 Tennessee — with a pitcher who throws 105 mph — in final SEC road series

Georgia baseball's final SEC road series of the year comes with some daunting challenges.

The Bulldogs go up against a Tennessee team that is No. 1 in the nation in three major polls, 31-2 at home and can hand the ball out of the bullpen to someone who throws harder than anyone they will have faced ever.

Ben Joyce routinely throws the ball at more than 100 miles per hour, creating a stir when he hit 105.5 on the radar against Auburn on May 1, the fastest recorded pitch in college baseball history.

Batter up, Bulldogs, who have an idea of the approach they’ll need to take against Joyce.

“Get down early and be ready to swing,” shortstop/third baseman Cole Tate said. “I’ve never seen 105, but it’s all about timing. If you get a right time, there’s a very good chance because if you hit 105, the ball goes a lot farther.”

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Georgia opens the three-game set Thursday night at 7 p.m. on ESPNU with games Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.

On a Tennessee team that Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said is filled with “power arms,” including Blade Tidwell—the No. 20 rated MLB draft prospect by Baseball America--the righty Joyce is different with what Stricklin labeled “crazy arm strength.”

“It’s flat, it’s a lot different then moving and sinking,” said left fielder Connor Tate, who leads Georgia with 49 RBI and is second with 9 homers. “Just get down on your foot early and see the ball and hit it.”

Aroldis Chapman, now with the Yankees, has thrown the fastest recorded MLB pitch of 105.8 in 2010.

“Ben throws a lot of fastballs,” Stricklin said. “He does have a slider he throws to righties and a change-up to lefties, but it’s going to be 90 percent fastballs. Like a lot of guys in the pen. …None of our guys have ever seen a 104 mile per hour fastball. There’s only a few people on the planet that have ever seen that. You’ve just got to get it ready. You know it’s coming. You’ve got to just be on time to hit that fastball.”

Georgia ace Jonathan Cannon, who throws harder than anyone on the Bulldogs at 97 miles per hour, has seen from afar the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Joyce throw.

“It’s really impressive to see what he’s done, especially coming off the (Tommy John) surgery,” Cannon said. “I think everyone’s always enamored by guys that throw really hard. It’s fun to watch. It’s one of those things where I’m excited to see him throw. Hopefully our hitters can square a couple off him.”

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Joyce, a redshirt junior who is the No. 131 rated MLB draft prospect, is holding opponents to a team-best .143 average with a 2-1 record and an 1.23 ERA with 39 strikeouts and seven walks, but isn’t flawless. The Walters State (Tenn.) transfer has thrown a team-high 4 wild pitches and was pulled in his appearance last Thursday against Kentucky when he unleashed a wild pitch.

Against Auburn, he pitched four innings, allowing one hit and striking out six. Tennessee’s YakkerTech data tracking system recorded 28 of his 33 pitches at 103 mph or faster with 15 104 mph or faster and three 105 mph or faster.

Georgia (32-16, 13-11 SEC) is second in the SEC East behind Tennessee (43-6, 20-4) which already clinched the division. The Volunteers won every SEC series before Kentucky took two of three last weekend in Lexington.

The Bulldogs, ranked as high as No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches poll, hosts Missouri next weekend to close out the season needing a strong finish to secure an NCAA regional bid at home.

“If we can take two out of three that would put us in a really good spot,” Connor Tate said.

Tennessee has more than doubled its total attendance record for a regular season and its average attendance of 4,137 will set a record, well ahead of 2,137 in 1997.

“They’re filling it up and they’ve got a lot of energy,” Stricklin said.

“We know it’s going to be a hostile environment,” Connor Tate said. “Everybody’s into the game. There’s a lot of pressure on us. We’re going to calm down and get the job done.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: UGA v. Tennessee baseball: Georgia preps for No. 1 Vols, Ben Joyce