Link to Article on The Red & Black
By Olivia Sayer
Georgia teammates in action during the national anthem before a NCAA college baseball game between UNC Asheville and Georgia at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Georgia won 11-2. (Photo/Mady Mertens: @MadyMertensPhotography)
It can’t get much worse for Georgia baseball after an 18-1 loss it suffered in game one of the Athens Super Regional. The Bulldogs played poorly in all aspects of the game, with the offense, pitching and defense having miscues. As a result, the Bulldogs face elimination one game into the Super Regional. If Georgia is to keep its postseason run alive, it must do four things.
Georgia has to stay within its approach.
After the 11-run inning that Georgia allowed in game one, the Bulldogs inadvertently changed their approach at the plate. They went from trying to get on base to swinging for the fences.
“There’s a couple guys I thought were trying to hit 10-run homers up there,” head coach Wes Johnson said. “That just means they care. That just means that they’re trying to get us back into the game. We got outside of our approach a little bit.”
With their season on the line, there is pressure on the Bulldogs to produce at the plate. However, Georgia is at its best when it showcases a diverse offense. As evidenced by NC State in game one, putting the ball in play puts pressure on the opponent’s defense, which can lead to runs.
Swinging for the fences, on the other hand, leads to a higher strikeout rate and lower pitch count for the opposing pitcher.
In order to score runs, Georgia needs to get back to its approach of moving the line for the next batter. Despite a four-hit performance, the Bulldogs are confident their offense will return to form.
“Undoubtedly,” Corey Collins said of his belief in Georgia’s offense. “We led the country on offense for how long? I’m confident in our guys in putting good swings on balls.”
The Bulldogs did put good swings on the ball throughout the game. However, the hits fell into the glove of NC State’s defenders.
“At that point, we’re all kind of just chuckling like that’s how it’s going today,” Collins said. “And you can’t change it, but you’ve just got to keep putting swings on it. I try and live by the quote of, ‘You make a barrel, it’s good, but getting a hit is a bonus.’ We’ve got to live by that.”
Georgia can’t make the game bigger than it is.
One of Johnson’s major points of emphasis is not hitting the panic button. Facing elimination, that statement holds a greater truth for the Bulldogs.
The 2024 Georgia team has never faced a situation like it will Sunday afternoon, aside from the SEC Tournament when its postseason spot was already secured. However, through the transfer portal, Johnson built an experienced team that can win at Foley Field. The numbers back it up, as the Bulldogs are 32-6 at home this season.
“You don’t have to rebuild,” Johnson said prior to the Super Regional. “But you can go out — and if you do your due diligence and run your models — you can find a team that can win in your ballpark.”
The group Johnson found has no shortage of postseason experience. In order to thrive in game two, Georgia will need to lean on that experience and play cool, calm and collected. Rather than focus on the implications of the game, the Bulldogs should remember it is still 27 outs on the field they are accustomed to playing on.
This approach applies for projected game two starter Leighton Finley, who Johnson admitted was “a little nervous” after his first-career postseason start in the Regional.
Following the start, Johnson said he sat down with the sophomore righthander to discuss his heartbeat and calming his nerves.
“I thought he was a little out of himself,” Johnson said. “He was moving a little quick opening night of Regionals. I sat down and talked to him a long time about it. I said, ‘When you get back out there, we’re going to go through some different things to make sure.”
Finley entered the game two days later and had the bases loaded with no outs. He responded to Johnson’s conversation by allowing one run and sending Georgia to its first Super Regional in 16 years.
“And I thought, come on man, bases loaded, no outs,” Johnson said. “And I thought his heartbeat was great on Sunday night.”
Georgia must take it one game at a time and believe in itself.
There are not many positives to take from a 17-run loss in game one of a best of three series. Georgia’s postgame press conference illustrated this, as the Bulldogs appeared stunned by the result.
Entering the game, the Bulldogs were confident in themselves. They had just swept their Regional in three games for the first time in program history and were two wins away from advancing to the College World Series.
Entering game two of the Super Regional, both facts still stand. Georgia needs two wins to advance to Omaha. However, in order to keep their NCAA Tournament run alive, the Bulldogs have to take it one game at a time.
When he was hired at Georgia, Johnson said his No. 1 rule is that you have to believe in yourself. After an 18-1 loss, it is understandable to have a little bit of confidence go out of the window. However, in order to bounce back, the Bulldogs need to flush the loss and believe in themselves. Georgia should play like it’s a ‘best of one’ series.
“We’ve had four of five of these games this year,” Johnson said. “I think the resilience we’ve showed at that next game is what you build off of. As I told our guys, you just have to flush today.”
In the loss, practically every facet of Georgia’s game went haywire. The chances everything goes awry again are not high.
Georgia’s defense has to get better.
The Bulldogs gifted NC State a number of free outs in game one. In the postseason, the Bulldogs cannot afford to give good teams any extra outs to play with. If done, results such as an 11-run inning occur.
“[NC State] had some things fall in,” Johnson said regarding the top of the second. “The fly ball in left kind of dumps in. It’s baseball, man. And then they got off a couple of really good swings in that inning as well. I’m not going to sit here and act like they dinked us to death.”
Although there were only two errors listed on the box score, Georgia had about four plays on defense that should have been made. The first was a bunt attempt that starter Kolten Smith hesitated on to load the bases. The next batter followed with a bases-clearing double, while the top of NC State’s order followed with three consecutive hits to put Georgia in a six-run hole.
Later in the inning, the Bulldogs failed to turn a double play ball that reloaded the bases. Misplays on fly balls kept the line moving for NC State, who scored six more before Georgia recorded the third out.
The strangest defensive play occurred in the top of the sixth, when Henry Hunter was about to throw a ball back to Jarvis Evans on the mound. Hunter’s throw hit the batter and ricocheted close to the outfield. It was a normally routine play that scored another run for NC State.
“Crazy things today,” Johnson said.
Georgia looks to rebound for game two of the Super Regional. First pitch is set for Sunday at 12:06 p.m. from Foley Field.