The Georgia Bulldogs maintained their No. 5 ranking in the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll on April 27 after winning a 2-1 road SEC series over the No. 18 Ole Miss Rebels and falling to No. 3 Georgia Tech during a midweek game at Truist Park. Georgia's 2-2 week was enough for the Dawgs to still have the best record in the SEC.
Georgia (34-11, 15-6 SEC) blew an 8-0 lead in Game 1 against Ole Miss and then won Game 2 in a 14-inning marathon in the same day after inclement weather forced the Georgia-Ole Miss series to have a Saturday doubleheader. The Bulldogs won the series against Ole Miss with a 5-1 win on Sunday. The Bulldogs moved to 10-3 on the road and have won all four of their road series this season (all against ranked opponents).
"(Georgia pitcher) Caden (Aoki) is a warrior, he found out he was starting today around 11 a.m.," Georgia baseball manager Wes Johnson said on pitcher Caden Aoki, who stepped up in a strong UGA pitching performance on Sunday. "He was a little shaky early, but we asked him to man up, take one for the team, and he sure did. He kept putting up zeros after the one in the first. He was executing pitches and not giving in so impressed with what he did against a tough Ole Miss lineup. Then, we turned it over to the bullpen with a lot of matchups and we had a plan if we could get it to the sixth.
"Also, I want to give our offense credit. Daniel Jackson got one out of here on a day the ball wasn't flying, Our hitters did a nice job to put some runs on the board against a really good starter."
No. 5 Georgia remains ranked behind the No. 4 Texas Longhorns, No. 3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels, and the No. 1 UCLA Bruins. The top-five rankings did not change from the April 20 poll.
This week, Georgia has a chance to pad its record. The Bulldogs play Troy in a midweek game and then host the Missouri Tigers in a three-game SEC series.
Jacksonville State 25; Miami (FL) 20; Tennessee 17; Cincinnati 15; UCF 7; Pitt 6; UTSA 3; Oklahoma State 3; Missouri State 1; East Carolina 1;
This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Where Georgia ranks in baseball coaches poll after Ole Miss series win