ATHENS – The competition never stops, but Georgia baseball’s pitching staff seems to have finally taken shape in the home stretch of SEC play.

A red-hot starting rotation will lead the No. 6-ranked Bulldogs (39-11, 15-9 SEC) off the bus in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for another top-25 showdown. UGA and No. 23 Alabama will fight for a crucial SEC series at 7 p.m. on Friday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

Georgia coach Wes Johnson didn’t want to define hard roles for his pitchers when the season started. The veteran SEC pitching coach wanted to lean on one of the deepest staffs he said he’s ever coached.

“We work on that a lot from the standpoint of just telling guys, ‘Hey man, your job is to come in and get outs. It doesn’t matter when, it doesn’t matter who,’” Johnson said in February. “And you look at the way we scrimmaged in the fall and then even in the preseason, we had guys coming in that would throw three innings after a start.

“I said, ‘In your mind, you’re starting, you’re just coming in in the fourth inning, and you need to have a closer mentality in the fourth.”

Georgia’s depth still allows it to be fluid when it needs to. For instance, Johnson didn’t officially announce Kolten Smith as last Saturday’s starter before the series, likely in case he needed him in relief on Friday.

Johnson appears to be have the same plan this weekend, as he submitted another “TBA” for Saturday in his SEC Probable Pitching Matchups announcement.

It’s still somewhat fluid, but Georgia’s starting pitching plan is consistent. Emerging ace Brian Curley will start game one, game two is TBA and Leighton Finley will close the series on Sunday.

Curley, Smith and Finley dominated in the sweep at Missouri last weekend. They allowed a combined three earned runs on nine hits and four walks in 19-1/3 innings pitched.

The Crimson Tide offense figures to be a tougher challenge, but Johnson still bragged on how his starting rotation came together.

“Guys, Curley’s not been a starter, and so throwing him out there and just thinking, ‘Yeah, he’s got great stuff,’” Johnson said. “He’s used to going through a lineup one and a half times. Now we’re pushing him through a lineup three times, and that’s not as easy as it sounds.”

Johnson also bragged on returning starters Smith and Finley for different reasons. Smith’s ‘mid-season form’ was delayed by illness and injury early in the season, further shaking Georgia’s pitching plan.

Which is why Johnson complimented Finley, the only pitcher to start every weekend this season. Finley transitioned from the bullpen to the starting rotation last season, but fortified himself in the offseason with improved offspeed and higher confidence.

“We did so much with Leighton in the offseason on his slider, which has been a really good pitch for him,” Johnson said. “Once again, these guys aren’t robots. Getting comfortable, getting confidence with all your pitches is big, and I think that’s what you’re seeing with him now.

“Like, he’s got true confidence in what he’s doing with the baseball.”

The starters’ success has also helped Johnson weaponize his bullpen. Georgia’s top relievers appear to have identified themselves while other arms have proven useful in specific matchups.

“Oh, yeah, it takes a ton of pressure off of not only that particular player, but your starters and then us in there as we make moves,” Johnson said. “We’re looking at our grids and going, okay yeah, man, right here it’s screaming to put Alton Davis in the game.

“And we’ve already talked to Alton about, ‘Hey Alton, you’re coming in to get this guy, and here’s what you need to do,’ and, ‘Zach Harris, you just need to come in and do what you do, throw the ball hard and mix with three pitches.’”

Davis and Harris are becoming two of the first guys out of the bullpen every weekend. Davis’ velocity as a left-hander is especially important in high-leverage situation against right-handed hitters.

Harris is stepping into a closer role after logging his first two saves last weekend. He’s also battle-tested, as he started in the regional and super regional rounds in Georgia’s 2024 NCAA Tournament run.

Harris’ last four outings have all been in Georgia’s final defensive inning. It started with a scoreless ninth in a 3-0 loss at Clemson, and he has since thrown 3-1/3 more scoreless frames, allowing just two hits and no walks with six strikeouts.

“I think his lack of care about the result has been big for him,” Curley said. “I room with him on the road, so we’re always talking, he just likes throwing the ball hard, and he’s a phenomenal pitcher, too.

“So when you combine the intent, lack of care, and then just overall ability, those are the things that make him as good as he is.”

Johnson recognized JT Quinn and DJ Radtke for their excellence out of the bullpen this season. Quinn has produced an impressive 2.40 ERA since SEC play began while Radtke has handled the second-most innings of any reliever this season.

Georgia probably can’t expect to lean on its pitching if it wants to achieve its postseason goals. That’s likely going to need to come from the offense that currently leads the country with 119 home runs in 50 games.

But Johnson can trust his staff more to keep opposing offenses in check in games where the Bulldog bats are having a slow start. That was a key factor in all three of UGA’s wins last weekend.