At the start of each week throughout the regular season, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will take a closer look at the Georgia baseball team. Here’s a breakdown of the Bulldogs going into the 12th week of the 2024 campaign:
Record: 31-12, 10-11 SEC
Streak: Won 1
Rankings: No. 11 RPI
Last Week (2-2)
Tuesday: Defeated Clemson 4-3 (15)
Friday: Lost at No. 1 Texas A&M 5-2
Saturday (DH): lost to A&M 19-9 (7), beat A&M 5-4
This Week
Tuesday: at Kennesaw State (24-18), 6 p.m.
Friday: vs. No. 14 Vanderbilt (31-13, 11-10 SEC), 6 p.m.
Saturday: vs. Vanderbit, 2 p.m.
Sunday: vs. Vanderbilt, 1 p.m.
Week in review
It was memorable week, with Charlie Condon becoming Georgia’s home run king and the Bulldogs’ edging Clemson in another marathon matchup. But UGA could not accomplish its most important objective, which was to win the series against No. 1-ranked Texas A&M in College Station and continue to make up ground in the SEC.
Almost five years exactly after its infamous 20-inning win over Clemson, the Bulldogs were able to tie the No. 4-ranked Tigers with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game to extra innings. In the bottom of the 15th, Paul Toetz scored from third base on a wild pitch for an after-midnight victory.
In College Station, the Bulldogs managed to save face with a 5-4 win in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader. Reliever Christian Mracna closed the door on the Aggies’ late comeback bid from a 5-2 deficit. That was no small feat as it was only the second home loss of the season for A&M, which was 28-1 there coming in.
It was incredibly resilient considering the gut-punch the Bulldogs received earlier in the day. After shooting ahead 9-0 in the first inning, Georgia gave back all but one of those runs in the bottom of the inning, then saw A&M continue the onslaught to win via 10-run-rule 19-9 in seven innings.
Condon, a redshirt sophomore from Marietta, set the single-season and career home run mark with a two-run blast in the seventh inning to give Georgia a 5-2 that would stand up. That gave the 6-foot-6, 215-pound multi-positional star his 29th round-tripper of the year, besting the previous mark held by Gordon Beckham (2006-08). It also gave Condon a UGA record 54 career homers, and he did it in just two seasons over 99 games. Both marks lead the nation.
Condon heads into the next-to-last week of the regular season hitting .461 and has 16 doubles on the season. An exceptional fielder who has taken turns at third base, first and all three outfield positions this season, Condon is a favorite to win both the Golden Spikes Award for amateur baseball players and the Dick Howser Award as college baseball’s top player. He projects as the No. 1 selection in June’s pro baseball draft.
Week ahead
Individual awards are the last thing on Condon’s mind as the Bulldogs head into the final three weekends of the regular season in a must-win situation. After Tuesday night’s road trip to Kennesaw State, Georgia gets Vanderbilt at home, travels to South Carolina and finishes up the season at Foley Field against Florida.
Sitting one game below. 500 in conference play -- and sitting at fifth place in the SEC East -- the Bulldogs need to at least win more than they lose over those final nine games. The consensus opinion is the NCAA selection committee will not deny a regional tournament berth to any team that can break even in the rough-and-tumble SEC.
That journey begins on Friday when the Commodores arrive for the first of three. Vandy has been a tough adversary for the Bulldogs, winning the last four and six of the last nine.
“A good team win,” coach Wes Johnson said of Saturday’s victory over the Aggies. “We need to carry this momentum into next week.”
They said it
“It’s amazing just the path the past couple of years. I redshirted my freshman year and have worked really hard. It’s really fun for it to pay off with a group like this. I love being able to contribute with such a great group of good guys and all that good stuff. It means a lot, and we’re not done yet. We’re going to keep on rolling, and hopefully will be a couple more coming.” – Condon on becoming Georgia’s all-time home run leader.
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