Georgia baseball had multiple memorable moments in 2024.
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Olivia Sayer
Georgia baseball’s 2024 season was one that will have a prominent spot in the record books.
The Bulldogs finished with their first top-10 national ranking since 2008 and ended up one win shy of a trip to the College World Series. They broke multiple school records — some of which dated back to 2008 — and rejuvenated the passion surrounding the program.
With less than three weeks until Opening Day, here is a look back at the top 10 moments from Georgia baseball’s 2024 season.
10. Kolten Smith strikes out 12 against hometown Gators
Georgia’s offense was the main story of the 2024 season, but its rotation turned in multiple solid performances as well. Kolten Smith — a high-strikeout righthander — began the year as a reliever and ended as one of the team’s top starters.
His second start of the season came on a Thursday night against Florida. The Gators were the reigning College World Series runner up with their campus located less than an hour away from Smith’s hometown of Ocala.
Smith said that facing Florida felt “just like any other time,” but his actions demonstrated there was likely extra motivation. After sitting at 93 pitches through seven innings, the sophomore approached head coach Wes Johnson and told him, “I’m going one more.” Johnson obliged and watched as Smith struck out his 11th and 12th batters of the evening. It marked the most strikeouts by a Georgia pitcher up to that point in the season and helped the Bulldogs secure their ninth straight victory.
9. Sweeping No. 13 Vanderbilt
Georgia’s three-game sweep of Vanderbilt marked its first since 2003, and the Bulldogs accomplished the feat in overwhelming fashion. They defeated the Commodores — whom Corey Collins dubbed the “Yankees of college baseball” — by a combined score of 35-11.
Georgia’s offense ambushed Vanderbilt’s pitching staff throughout the series, hitting nine home runs in 22 innings. Charlie Condon went deep in all three games — extending his streak to seven consecutive — and the Bulldogs run-ruled No. 13 Vanderbilt in two of the three contests.
On the mound, Leighton Finley delivered six innings of shutout ball in game one, while Georgia’s bullpen held steady in games two and three.
8. A grand SEC home-opener
Georgia had to postpone its SEC home-opener against No. 8 Alabama by a day due to weather, but the Bulldogs made sure the outcome was worth the wait.
Kolby Branch hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Georgia an electric 9-5 victory. It was the sophomore’s second grand slam in a season that eventually saw him set the new school record. Unfortunately for Branch, his celebration — tossing his helmet in the air right before crossing home plate — resulted in an ejection and one-game suspension. Branch’s teammates honored his first game heroics by hanging his red No. 9 jersey in the dugout.
7. A new leadoff hitter
Georgia’s matchup with Wofford appeared to be another opportunity for a midweek tuneup, but it turned into one of the greatest decisions of Johnson’s first year in Athens — batting Collins at leadoff. It was a bold move due to the senior lefty not fitting the standard leadoff criteria — his build and power resembled Kyle Schwarber rather than Ronald Acuña Jr. — but he quickly showcased his ability to set the tone.
Collins went deep in his first three trips to the plate to tie a school record against the Terriers. He also set a new program mark for hit-by-pitches with 28, while batting .354 with 20 home runs during the season. Collins’ NCAA-leading .574 on-base percentage was the third best in NCAA history and the main reason Johnson initially penciled in the lineup switch.
“Corey gets on base a lot,” Johnson said after the game. “When you’ve got the best player in college baseball in Charlie Condon, you want somebody on base that is in front of him.”
6. Chaos at Coolray
Georgia capped its three-game series against Georgia Tech with its most exciting game of the 2024 regular season. Playing at the Gwinnett Stripers’ Coolray Field, the Bulldogs erased a 9-3 deficit in three innings to earn a 11-9 victory.
Georgia had no offense through four innings and looked destined for a series split — since game one was suspended and never made up — until a home run from Branch put the Bulldogs on the board. The Yellow Jackets responded with four runs over the next two frames, but Georgia generated a five-run seventh to pull within one.
Both teams traded a scoreless eighth, and Georgia used a single, double and sacrifice fly to mount a three-run rally in the ninth. Brian Zeldin then struck out two Yellow Jackets to preserve the Bulldogs’ comeback victory.
5. Debut of the dog
It’s rare that a celebration makes it this high on a list featuring record-breaking moments, but Georgia’s German Shepherd mask is worthy of the recognition. The Bulldogs debuted it during a midweek matchup with Kennesaw State, and it quickly became a viral mainstay.
“Just figured the hitters needed a little bit more morale, hit the ball hard, get a little bit of altitude on the balls today,” said Tre Phelps, who was holding the mask after the game.
The celebration was simple — hit a home run, and wear the dog mask — but the players quickly fell in love with the idea. Johnson liked it too but had one glaring question regarding the mask itself.
“When did we become the German Shepherds,” Johnson said, laughing, prior to the Super Regional. “I thought we were the Bulldogs.”
German Shepherd or not, the celebration appeared to ignite Georgia’s bats. The Bulldogs finished the season second in the nation with 63 home runs that set a new school record.
“I want our guys to have fun,” Johnson said. “We have enough serious things in life we have to deal with on a daily basis.”
4. A new home run king
It was challenging to select one moment from Condon’s historic 2024 campaign. He became the highest draft pick in program history and led the NCAA with a .443 batting average, 37 home runs — a BBCOR-era record — a 1.009 slugging percentage and a 1.565 OPS. He also swept the national awards and became Georgia’s first recipient of both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.
However, the at-bat that gets the nod is the one that placed him above Gordon Beckham in the record books. A 408-foot shot to deep left field against Texas A&M earned Condon the title of Georgia’s home run king. The two-run blast set new program records for both single season and career home runs and helped the Bulldogs salvage their series at College Station with a 5-4 victory.
3. Logan Jordan steps up to the plate
Georgia entered Columbia, South Carolina looking for its first consecutive SEC sweeps since 2008. The Bulldogs were coming off a home sweep of Vanderbilt and had three-games against No. 14 South Carolina to achieve their goal.
Success did not appear likely through 25 innings, as the Gamecocks carried a two-run lead into the eighth inning of the final game. After Georgia tied it up, South Carolina intentionally walked Condon to load the bases for Dylan Goldstein, who was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
Johnson took advantage of the opportunity and turned to Logan Jordan. The transfer from Campbell saw success against South Carolina’s Matthew Becker the year prior, and the Bulldogs hoped history would repeat itself.
The Gamecocks immediately took Becker off the mound, but Jordan still sent the second pitch he saw into the left field bullpen for a go-ahead grand slam. The 387-foot shot silenced the 7,912 in attendance and prompted a memorable postgame message from Johnson.
“I’m going to let you know something,” Johnson said in a video posted to Twitter/X by the team. “The Dawgs are feared.”
2. The Clemson game
Picking a single moment in one of the most unpredictable games in Foley Field history seemed unfair, so Georgia’s entire 4-3 victory over Clemson gets the No. 2 spot.
The 15-inning contest lasted exactly 5.5 hours and featured 22 position players, 20 pitchers and many walk-up songs. A total of 502 pitches were thrown before Georgia walked away victorious.
Clemson almost put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth, but a double play turned by Branch and Slate Alford ended the inning with the bases loaded. The Tigers then intentionally walked Condon in the bottom of the inning to move a runner into scoring position for Collins. The reliable senior batter tied the game with a single into right field, and six innings later — at approximately 12:33 a.m. — Georgia walked it off on a wild pitch.
1. Chandler Marsh’s heroic save
The Bulldogs had plenty of memorable plays in 2024, but a six-pitch sequence from Chandler Marsh against Georgia Tech in the Athens Regional tops the list.
Marsh entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He had no room for error, as a single base runner would give Georgia Tech the win and force a winner-take-all game seven. Knowing the stakes, the junior righthander danced around the strike zone, leading to a 3-1 count with nowhere to put Georgia Tech’s Payton Green.
After a not-so-quick hitter’s meeting called by the Yellow Jackets, Marsh fired a 96 mph heater towards the top of the zone, getting Green to chase. He then threw a pitch to the outside corner, and the Yellow Jacket chopped it to the right side of the diamond. It would have been enough to score the winning run, but Collins was there to field it. He threw across his body to Marsh, who made a falling catch for the out.
The Bulldogs scored three in the top of the 10th to take the lead, and Finley closed it out to give Georgia its first Super Regional berth since 2008.