Link to Article on The Red & Black
Olivia Sayer
Georgia freshman Tre Phelps (36) and senior Corey Collins (6) celebrate a home run during a NCAA college baseball game between Alabama and Georgia at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, March 23, 2024. Georgia won 9-5. (Photo/Mady Mertens)
Following Georgia baseball’s 15-5 victory over Kennesaw State Tuesday evening, freshman Tre Phelps stood near the home dugout at Foley Field with a dog mask in hand. The mask was the idea of Lukas Farris, according to Phelps.
“[It’s a] home run mask,” Phelps said. “Just figured the hitters needed a little bit more morale, hit the ball hard, get a little bit of altitude on the balls today.”
After a challenging weekend in Starkville, Georgia baseball used a 20-hit performance to run-rule its ninth opponent this season. The Bulldogs hit two homers in the contest, with the most impactful coming in the fourth inning.
With a tie ballgame, Charlie Condon stepped into the batter’s box. After getting off to a blazing start that saw his batting average approach .500, Condon had scuffled at the plate. Prior to the game, he only had three hits in his last 21 plate appearances. However, on the fourth pitch of the at bat, he drilled a ball to deep center field for his NCAA-leading 21st home run of the season.
It was all thanks to Farris’ dog mask, which Condon sported after rounding the bases.
“I want the game to be fun,” head coach Wes Johnson said of Georgia’s new celebration. “I played the game and continued to play it because it was fun for me, and I want them to have fun. Sometimes that provides extra energy in the dugout as well, so I’m all for it.”
The new prop may have also provided a little luck for the Bulldogs, who after committing three errors in their matchup with Mississippi State, were the beneficiaries of such miscues. Following a first-pitch double by Corey Collins, Slate Alford lined a ball right to Kennesaw State’s shortstop. In an attempt to turn two, he threw it past the second baseman, allowing Collins to cross the plate and give Georgia a 1-0 lead.
Two pitches later, Athens native Halton Hardy threw one to the backstop, scoring Dylan Goldstein. Another error gave Tre Phelps first base, while a third in the inning advanced him two bases. A misplay in left field plated a fourth run for Georgia, and by the end of the first inning the Bulldogs led by five.
With Georgia pitching a bullpen game, the Owls clawed back. A two-RBI single in the second and three-RBI triple in the third knotted the game at five. Condon’s solo shot in the fourth broke the tie, and gave the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead.
After Daniel Padysak pitched a perfect fifth, Kolby Branch led the bottom half of the inning off with a single. Collins walked, and Condon singled to load the bases for Dylan Goldstein. Although they lead the league in home runs, the Bulldogs utilized small ball to further bolster their lead.
Goldstein patiently took a walk to extend Georgia’s lead to two. Alford then earned a painful RBI, getting hit by a pitch to keep the line moving. Consecutive singles by Phelps and Clayton Chadwick gave Georgia an 11-5 lead heading into the sixth.
From there, Georgia continued to tack on runs, highlighted by a two-run shot off the bat of Branch in the seventh. Branch is now one of three Bulldogs to have double-digit homers this season.
That was not Branch’s only accomplishment of the evening either, as a single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth walked the game off for the Bulldogs.
If Georgia’s performance cannot be attributed to the dog mask, its scorecard may have been a factor. The Bulldogs sported a new-look lineup, with Alford making his first career start at first base and Chadwick making his season debut in center field. The versatility allowed Trey King to get his third start of the season and secure his first RBI.
“There are certain matchups so far that we’ve gotten into when you look at it and go ‘Man, Trey King is screaming to play him,’” Johnson said. “So we have, and when we’ve gotten those he’s produced.”
Georgia will be back in action Thursday against Missouri, who swept No. 4 Florida in its previous conference series. The first pitch is set for 7:02 p.m. at Foley Field, and Jarvis Evans will be on the mound for the Bulldogs.
https://x.com/OliviaKSayer/status/1777799059345948855