ATHENS -- 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 (3-0) going into the second week of the campaign:
Record: 3-0, 0-0 SEC
Streak: Won 3
Rankings: N/A
Last Week (3-0)
Friday: Beat UNC-Asheville 11-2
Saturday: Beat UNC-Asheville 17-5 (8)
Sunday: Beat UNC-Asheville 10-0 (7)
This Week
Tuesday: at Georgia State, 3 p.m.
Friday: vs. Northern Kentucky, 3 p.m.
Saturday: vs. N. Kentucky, 2 p.m.
Sunday: vs. N. Kentucky, 1 p.m.
Week in review
Georgia, in its first season under coach Wes Johnson, made short work of visiting UNC-Asheville in the opening series of the season at Foley Field. The home-field Bulldogs run-ruled the visiting Bulldogs in the second and third games to take the three-game series by an aggregate score of 38-7 playing just 24 of a scheduled 27 innings.
Both pitching and hitting stood out. Georgia hit 10 home runs in the series, though oddly none of them came off the bat of preseason All-American Charlie Condon. Not that Condon didn’t have a great weekend. He hit a team-best .636 with three doubles and had one single to left that registered an exit velocity 118 mph. Even more impressive was his glove at third base while recording seven put-outs. His over-the-bullpen-wall catch of what looked to be a sure foul ball on Sunday made ESPN SportsCenter’s plays-of-the-day highlights.
The real star of the show for the Bulldogs was Slate Alford. The newly-arrived transfer infielder from Mississippi State was smacking the ball all over the yard, including three that left the premises altogether. The 6-foot-3, 236-pound junior from Madison, Alabama, was named SEC co-player of the week after tallying a league-best 15 total bases, nine RBI and three homers. He also recorded a perfect fielding weekend with seven chances at second and third base. Overall, Alford went 6-for-14 (.429) at the plate and scored five runs for the weekend while batting leadoff.
Joining Alford on the hit parade were transfer outfielders Dylan Goldstein (Florida Atlantic) and Logan Jordan (Campbell) and senior catcher Fernando Gonzalez, each of whom recorded two home runs. Currently, Georgia is batting .358 and slugging .758 as a team.
Most of the 11 pitchers Johnson deployed distinguished themselves, especially Leighton Finley, Brandt Pancer, Chandler Marsh, Josh Roberge and Jarvis Evans, none of whom relinquished a run in a combined 10 2/3 innings of work. Opening day starter Charlie Goldstein (1-0, 2.25 ERA) also was sharp with a team-high seven strikeouts and two walks in four innings.
Week ahead
Georgia will take a short trip down the road to the “Bus Yard” to face Georgia State in Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon. The Panthers (1-2) outscored New Orleans 18-15 over the weekend but dropped two of the three games. The Bulldogs lead the series against State 47-9 but, after winning nine straight, dropped the last one 9-7 in Athens last year. The two teams will play a second mid-week game on April 2 at Foley Field.
After the Panthers, the Bulldogs will return to Foley Field next weekend to play host to Northern Kentucky in a three-game set. The Norse (2-1) scored 33 runs on the road over the weekend at UT-Martin to take two of the three games.
They said it
“There’s been a lot of hype around the ‘New Era’ we’re trying to show off, and I think that’s what we did this weekend. We have a fire-power offense. There’s not a weak link in this lineup.” – Georgia All-American Charlie Condon
“The biggest challenge with a team in this game being consistent.” -- Coach Wes Johnson
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