Two life-changing moments have prepared Georgia’s baseball team for what they hope will be a return to the College World Series.
Each of the past two years, a member of the team has experienced a tragedy: Chance Veazey was paralyzed from the waist down in the fall of 2009 when his motor scooter collided with a car. Last year, Johnathan Taylor suffered a broken neck and paralysis when he collided with a teammate during a game against Florida State.
Things have been thankfully quiet this year as the Bulldogs prepare to open their season Friday against Presbyterian. The team is ready to do battle in a tough SEC and try to make it to Omaha, Neb., just like every senior class has done at least once since David Perno took over as coach in 2002.
“The past two years, it’s been something you can’t even prepare for,” outfielder Peter Verdin said. “Two catastrophic injuries that most people won’t see in their lifetime. It shook us up as a team. Last year showed how we would persevere through it.”
Perno credits the team’s leadership for keeping the team focused enough last season to reach an NCAA Regional, finishing with a 33-32 record. The Bulldogs were eliminated in Corvallis, Ore., by Oregon State, but they now know what they are capable of when everyone pulls together.
“There’s no doubt it has been extremely difficult and challenging,” Perno said. “Hopefully they will get some payback that they deserve. Last year you couldn’t ask for more from a baseball team that came together in a trying and difficult situation.”
In addition to that sharpened focus, this year’s team brings back 22 lettermen, including eight starting position players and nine pitchers. Their goal is at least 40 wins, seven more than last season. To do so, they must deal with another tough schedule.
While last year’s schedule was the most difficult of any team in the country, according to strength of schedule ratings, this year Georgia may benefit from playing 21 of its first 22 games at Foley Field. The only time it must leave Clarke County is to make the short drive to Gwinnett County to play Kennesaw State.
Though the Bulldogs rank as high as No. 11 in some preseason polls, which would seem to stack the odds in their favor to at least make a regional, they must deal with divisional foes Florida and two-time defending national champion South Carolina, who are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in most polls. There’s also Arkansas, Vanderbilt and LSU, each of whom is ranked in most polls.
To make it through, Verdin and Perno said they will fall back on lessons learned in the past two years.
Verdin said he has learned that staying emotionally consistent is a key to success. After batting less than .200 during the season’s first half, he rebounded by hitting .277 in the SEC to finish with a .258 average.
While Verdin has gravitated toward staying steady, Perno said he has learned more about letting the emotions take over.
“Ability to see these kids grow through these life-changing circumstances has been awesome,” Perno said. “It’s no doubt it’s been trying. At the same time, if it’s not difficult or trying it’s not rewarding.
“Hopefully, the story is still being written. Hopefully this class and this team can put together some more resolve on these situations by putting together a great year.”
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