Link to Article on The Red & Black
By Olivia Sayer
Georgia baseball defeated Army 8-7 in game one of the NCAA Athens Regional Friday afternoon at Foley Field. Against the Black Knights, the Bulldogs showcased their lineup depth and versatility. Georgia also showed it has room to improve with its defense and pitching.
Georgia does not need the home run to score.
The Bulldogs, who are third in the league in home runs, only hit one against the Black Knights. It came off the bat of SEC Player of the Year Charlie Condon in the bottom of the first inning. Against Army, Georgia used sacrifice flies, doubles and a single to score its eight runs.
The Bulldogs also got hit by five pitches, which is an aspect of the game head coach Wes Johnson said Georgia works on during practice.
“This game is about base runners,” Johnson said prior in the season. “The old Moneyball [infamous movie quote] ‘just get on base.’”
The versatility was evident in Dillon Carter’s final line. Carter reached base in all five of his plate appearances and finished the game 0-for-0. He walked three times, got hit by two pitches and scored twice.
Georgia’s lineup is deep.
Before the season, the major question surrounding the Bulldogs was who would protect Condon in the lineup. After intentionally walking Condon twice, the Black Knights learned the answer.
In the top of the sixth, the Bulldogs trailed by one with one out and a runner on first. Army intentionally walked Condon to move the runner into scoring position. After the game, head coach Chris Tracz said the Black Knights went into the game not wanting to let Condon beat them.
However, while focusing on Condon, the Black Knights overlooked the rest of Georgia’s lineup. Freshman Tre Phelps singled, and Slate Alford hit a 2-RBI double to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game. Carter followed with a walk, and Dylan Goldstein hit a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to extend Georgia’s lead.
“This lineup one through nine that we have is, just we have production one through nine,” Condon said prior to the Regional. “This lineup complements each other really well. We’ve just got guys really committed to putting together good at-bats for each other and having selfless at-bats and continuing to be productive that way, just top to bottom.”
Defense has to be better.
Although Georgia won the game, it had no shortage of defensive miscues. This season, the Bulldogs rank 12th out of 14 SEC teams in fielding percentage. Georgia is fourth in the conference with 50 errors, and the Bulldogs added two more against Army.
With a one-run lead in the top of the eighth, Condon threw an infield hit into the outfield. The error allowed a run to score, and Army’s next batter tied the game with a ground out.
“I saw that I had [the runner] off third a little bit,” Condon said. “Just had the game speed up on me there for a minute and made a bad throw. But that’s why I’m lucky to have a pitching staff and group of offensive bats that can keep us back in the game.”
In the postseason, every out matters. Although the free run did not alter the end result, the Bulldogs would still like to limit their defensive miscues.
Pitching nerves will subside.
Starter Leighton Finley appeared nervous in his first postseason start. He struggled with command through the outing and allowed four runs in only 3.2 innings. Johnson said the team will speak with him about his heartbeat, and there is a chance Finley will pitch again in the Regional.
Kolten Smith will start game two for the Bulldogs. The sophomore right-hander developed from a reliever to a starter throughout the season. In his most recent outing, Smith struck out 12 batters in eight innings against Florida.
“I use the golf analogy,” Johnson said when discussing Smith’s improvements earlier in the season. “He’s understanding it. It’s like the good golfers— they just end up grabbing the ball right down the middle, they know what they’re good at, they play a play a draw, hypothetically.”
Johnson said he showed Smith what he’s good at, and Smith bought into his plan of not trying to do too much.
“[The plan] is pretty, it’s not simple,” Johnson said. “But it’s what he does. And when he tries to do all this other stuff, he can get in some trouble. So, he’s really bought into what we’re doing with him.”
Georgia will face UNC-Wilmington in the winner’s bracket Saturday at 6 p.m.