ATHENS — To date, Georgia baseball has been in the news primarily because of its massive renovation project at Foley Field. Or, to be more specific, it’s massively delayed renovation project.
The athletic association’s board of directors last week revealed that it was going to have to put off plans to renovate and expand one of the SEC’s smallest stadiums for another year. Originally, planned to be completed for the 2024 season, inflated construction costs, shipping delays and additional fundraising needs are going to push that at least to 2025.
Coach Scott Stricklin has been nothing if not patient. Discussions of the multimillion-dollar stadium expansion actually began before the 2020 season. Then came the pandemic.
“Sure, we all want to snap our fingers and have it done,” said Stricklin, who is entering his 10th season as the skipper of Georgia’s baseball program. “Josh (Brooks) wants to get it done. But it’s just the reality of things we’re dealing with. But we know it’s coming, and we know it’s going to be first-class and we’re going to get it done right.”
In the meantime, Stricklin is fully focused on his other renovation project, which is to get the Bulldogs ready for the 2023 season. That gets underway at 3 p.m. Friday when Georgia opens a three-game set against Jacksonville State.
It feels like an important season for Stricklin and the Bulldogs. On one hand, they have had tremendous success in reaching three of the past four NCAA Tournaments. On the other hand, Georgia has yet to reach a Super Regional under Stricklin’s watch. They were bounced as a No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional last year, ending the 2022 campaign with a 36-23 record.
Overall, the Bulldogs’ postseason performances have been mostly disappointing.
“I feel great about our program,” Stricklin told the AJC this week. “I feel great about where we are and what we’ve been able to build. Going back to when we got here, we were dead last. So, it took us time to build this thing. But we’ve been really good the last five years, and we’re going to be really good this year.
“I love our team, I love our program and we’re just going to keep building this thing.”
As always in baseball, it’s going to come down to pitching. Georgia feels good about its situation, but it has a tall task in having to replace both its ace starter and primary closer. Friday starter Jonathan Cannon (9-4, 4.02 ERA) and bullpen ace Jack Gowen (2-0, 2.39, 10 saves) each moved on.
However, the Bulldogs feel good about moving left-hander Jaden Woods into the No. 1 spot in the rotation. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound junior has always had exceptional velocity as Georgia’s first option out of the bullpen. But with better command of his breaking pitch, the Bulldogs feel like Wood can be one of the SEC’s most dominant starters.
“We all know the talent; we all know the stuff,” Stricklin said. “He loves to play, loves to compete and he’s been in the spotlight, been in big positions coming out of the bullpen the last two years. The breaking ball has gotten better, gotten more consistent. So, we’re excited to give the ball to Jaden on Friday.”
Six-foot-6 junior left-hander Liam Sullivan (4-3, 4.62) returns to the role of Saturday starter, and Georgia’s No. 3 spot was won in preseason competition by freshman right-hander Blake Gillespie, a Canadian native who moved to Lula in Hall County late in his high school days.
Regardless of how the Bulldogs do on the mound this season, they’re expecting to have a lot of run support. Georgia knew it would be returning a lot of firepower in 2023 and that has been evident – and then some during fall play and preseason practices.
The Bulldogs return a pair of 13 home-run hitters in Connor Tate (.345) and Parks Harber (.307), as well as designated hitter/catcher Corey Collins (.256), who hit 11 homers despite not having an everyday role. But Georgia also discovered some other boppers in its midst, including junior Garrett Spikes, who has played mostly backup roles to date.
“We can’t get him out right now,” Stricklin said of the 6-4, 209-pound junior. “He’s hitting with some power, too, so he’s going to play as well. We’ve got a lot of guys pushing for playing time. That’s going to be the challenge, getting as many guys at-bats as possible.”
The Bulldogs have seen similar progress made in the development of Charlie Condon, a 6-6 first baseman/outfielder who has put on 25 pounds since last season. Stricklin said Condon has earned a spot “in the middle of the order.”
The wild card for the Bulldogs is going to be on the infield. Georgia is having to replace starters all the way around the diamond. That had a lot to do with Stricklin raiding the transfer portal for eight players.
Among them are Sebastian Murillo of Long Beach State, Mason LePlante of Yale and Will David of Samford. Murrillo is expected to start at shortstop this weekend, but will alternate middle-infield roles with LePlante while David will bounce between third base and second and serve as a third catcher.
Georgia has four transfer pitchers in Kyle Greener (Elon), Zach DeVito (Tulane), Dalton Rhadans (Wofford) and Pace Mercer (Abraham Baldwin).
Back to handle the primary duties behind the dish is reliable junior Fernando Gonzales. He’ll receive pitches on Fridays and Sundays, while Collins will fill that role on Saturdays.
For now. All roles are subject to change as the season progresses.
“You never know until you go out there and play,” Stricklin said. “I think our lineup’s going to be pretty tough to pitch to. I think we’ve got a chance to be really good.”
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