ATHENS, Ga. — The national No. 7 seed Georgia baseball team is two wins away from making the NCAA College World Series.
The 10th-seeded NC State Wolfpack stands in the way of the Bulldogs' quest to make their first World Series since 2008. The two begin a best of three series in the NCAA Super Regional at Foley Field on Saturday, with first pitch slated for 12:06 p.m.
The game will be televised on ESPNU and be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network,
In opening day action on Friday in the Super Regionals, No. 1 national seed Tennessee moved within one win of a third College World Series appearance in four years. But North Carolina, Virginia and Florida State turned in the most eye-opening performances on the first day of NCAA super regionals.
Vance Honeycutt's walk-off homer gave No. 4 Carolina an 8-6 win over West Virginia. Henry Godbout's go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh gave Virginia a 7-4 win over Kansas State. The No. 8 Seminoles set records for the most runs and largest winning margin in the 25-year history of the super regionals in their 24-4 victory over UConn. The No. 1 Volunteers beat Evansville 11-6.
The Bulldogs (42-15), under the direction of first-year Ike Cousins head coach Wes Johnson, have made their first Super Regional since 2008. Like Georgia, the Wolfpack (36-20), led by Elliott Avent, swept through their home regional last weekend. Georgia is 8-3 in Super Regional play and has advanced all four previous times, winning three at home and one on the road. Georgia’s last Super Regional appearance came against N.C. State in Athens and the Bulldogs captured the series 2-1 and eventually reached the College World Series Finals.
The Wolfpack has a 2-1 record in super regionals since 2008, all against the SEC, winning one and going 1-1 on the road. In 2021, N.C. State eliminated top-seed Arkansas in Fayetteville in a Super Regional to reach the CWS. The three-game series continues Sunday at 12:06 p.m. with Monday’s game, if necessary, TBA.
The Bulldog offense is headlined by Charlie Condon, who earlier this week was named a finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, the Golden Spikes Award, and the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award. The 2004 SEC Player of the Year, Condon, is projected to be among the top MLB draft picks in 2024. He leads the NCAA with a .445 batting average, a school record 36 home runs, 228 total bases, and a 1.036 SLG%. Senior Corey Collins, the Most Outstanding Player of the Athens Regional, is enjoying a fine year at .361-19-55 while leading the country with a .583 OB%. He ranks fourth nationally with an SEC-leading and school-record 27 HBP this year. Freshman Tre Phelps checks in at .355-10-34. Georgia ranks third nationally with a school record 145 home runs, including six Bulldogs with double-digit home runs. Also, this year’s squad has hit a school record 12 grand slams. Georgia is third nationally with a .593 slugging percentage and fourth in on-base percentage at .436. The Bulldogs are batting .305 with a 5.58 team ERA and a .974 fielding percentage. N.C. State is batting .285 with 89 home runs, a 6.11 ERA, and a .973 fielding percentage. The N.C. State offense is paced by graduate third baseman Alec Makarewicz (379-20-76), who was the Most Outstanding Player of the Raleigh Regional, graduate Garrett Pennington (.347-16-62) and junior catcher Jacob Cozart (.291-16-49).
Georgia’s top starting pitchers of late have been sophomore RHP Leighton Finley (5-1, 4.41 ERA, 1 SV, 71K, 26BB, 69.1 IP), sophomore RHP Kolten Smith (9-2, 4.41 ERA, 99K, 19BB, 65.1 IP) and sophomore Zach Harris (5-1, 6.69 ERA, 42K, 18BB, 35 IP). Graduate LHP Charlie Goldstein (4-1, 3.72 ERA, 43K, 13BB, 36.1 IP) has pitched just 7.2 innings since beating then No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville on March 29 due to an injury. The relievers have been graduate Christian Mracna (4-2, 5.32 ERA, 1 SV), graduate Brian Zeldin (3-3, 5.68 ERA, 6 SV), graduate Josh Roberge (3-1, 7.00 ERA), redshirt sophomore DJ Radtke (1-0, 3.45 ERA), graduate Daniel Padysak (1-0, 7.66 ERA) and junior Chandler Marsh (2-0, 8.18 ERA, 1 SV). The Wolfpack are led by experienced starters graduate RHP Sam Highfill (6-2, 5.35 ERA) and redshirt-senior RHP Logan Whittaker (3-1, 6.23 ERA), both who were on State’s 2021 CWS team, and a deep bullpen including freshman RHP Jacob Dudan (3-2, 4.17 ERA, 6 SV) and sophomore RHP Derrick Smith (3-1, 4.68 ERA, 7 SV)
Game 2 will be on Sunday in Athens, with first pitch slated for 12:06 p.m.
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