By JON GALLO
Staff Writer

For the Diamond Dogs, the real season is about to begin.

Georgia has won 11 of its first 12 games, but head coach Robert Sapp knows he won’t know how good his team is until after its three-game series at two-time defending NCAA Champion LSU, which starts tonight at 8.

"We’re going to find out how good we are real quick," he said. "Anytime you get to play against the champions you get a good look at where you stand."

Junior Cliff Brand (3-0, 2.37 ERA) hopes to get the Dogs’ first win in Alex Box Stadium since 1988 tonight.

And if there ever was a time for the Dogs to go into Baton Rouge with a chance of beating the Tigers, now’s the time.

"Everybody is hitting the ball well right now," said infielder Chris Hays. "Everything is starting to come together, both offensively and defensively."

"It seems everybody is swinging a hot bat right now," infielder Hoovey McGuirt said.

Sapp has yet to name a starter for Saturday’s 5 p.m. game.

"We’re really concentrating on Friday’s game," he said. "We have to see how many pitchers we need to use in the first game of the series."

Zach Frachiseur (3-0, 2.05 ERA) will start Sunday’s 2 p.m. series finale.

Offensively, Georgia will look to catcher Robby Hammock and designated hitter Aaron Anthony to get the crucial hits if it has any hopes of pulling an upset on the No. 11 Tigers.

Hammock is hitting .429 with a team-high five home runs, while Anthony has hit the ball out of the park four times and has a team-high 17 RBIs.