Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson believes his team is ready to send a message to the SEC this weekend.

The Bulldogs’ 17-1 record certainly points to a team prepared to take on fellow fringe-top 25 foe Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The Wildcats (14-3) will play host at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington for the opening weekend of SEC baseball.

It’s not just the record that encourages Johnson, though. It’s how UGA has earned it.

Georgia has dominated most of its games against inferior mid-major opponents en route to leading the country in home runs (52), slugging (.684) and OPS (1.161).

But the Bulldogs have also shown Johnson they know how to win the hard way, grinding out several comeback wins when they weren’t at their sharpest.

Johnson credits the uglier games for the intestinal fortitude needed to wrestle wins away in conference play.

“We’re battle-tested,” Johnson said after Georgia’s 10-5 win over Iowa on Tuesday. “We’ve come from behind, we’ve had a couple walk-offs, we’ve been in some tight ball games. We had to keep punching back and forth with these guys tonight.”

Johnson understands the marathon that is an SEC baseball schedule. The veteran pitching coach is entering his fifth season coaching in the conference, the last four coming with Mississippi State, Arkansas and defending national champion LSU.

Johnson, entering his first SEC season as the head of a program, aims to keep Georgia’s approach simple this weekend. The veteran-heavy Bulldogs have mentioned plenty that the team’s cool composure has helped it complete those comeback victories.

“You can’t panic in that league,” Johnson said. “The biggest thing is you just go play. Some teams will start to add pressure because of this league, and you just can’t.

“You try to play without a ton of emotion and with a lot of energy.”

Johnson would love to see Georgia energize its pitching staff with plenty more home runs in Lexington. He also knows that Kentucky Proud Park is larger than Foley Field, meaning the pitching staff and defense might need to carry more weight than it has over the last month.

The Wildcats have hit just 12 home runs this season, the lowest total in the SEC. Their 125 runs are also tied for the lowest in the conference.

“They play in such a big ballpark,” Johnson said. “We can’t expect to hit home runs. You’ve got to play defense.

“We’re just going to have to attack the strike zone. The biggest thing this weekend: We can’t walk a ton of guys.”

That begins with Friday starter Charlie Goldstein, who enters Lexington with 18 strikeouts and 8 walks in three official outings. Goldstein boasts a 1.29 ERA, good for the lowest among UGA’s weekend starters.

Kentucky will likely counter with righthander Travis Smith. The redshirt sophomore has a 5.95 ERA despite giving up just one home run this season.

Georgia’s 17-1 record displays how dominant it can be against lesser competition. The Bulldogs are 3-1 against high major teams, having beaten Georgia Tech twice, Iowa once and their only loss coming against Michigan State.

Johnson knows, though, that those numbers matter a lot less come tournament time if his team’s early success can’t transfer into the SEC gauntlet.

“Everybody’s like, ‘What do you think?’” Johnson said. “You don’t know until you play the first couple. Then you know.”