Diamond Dogs set for weekend series vs Vanderbilt

There is, weather permitting, college baseball this evening in Athens: UGA’s 18th ranked Diamond Dogs host the Vanderbilt Commodores. The first pitch is set for 6 o’clock at Foley Field. It will be game one of a three-game weekend series for the University of Georgia’s baseball team.

From Christopher Lakos, UGA Sports Communications...

The 18th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs play host to No. 13 Vanderbilt starting Friday at 6:02 pm. Saturday’s game will be at 2:02 p.m. The Sunday game features the annual Lettermen’s Day, and it begins at 1:02 p.m. All three will be streamed on SECN+ and available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

Georgia (32-12, 10-11 SEC), under the direction of Ike Cousins head baseball coach Wes Johnson, closed out its non-conference slate this past Tuesday with a 9-3 road win over Kennesaw State. The Bulldogs finished 22-1 (.957) out of conference during the regular season, which is the best winning percentage in those games in school history. The previous mark was .907 by the 1980 squad that went 24-2-1. VU comes to town with a 32-13 mark and 11-10 in the SEC.

Stay Hot: The Bulldogs rank third nationally with a school record 113 home runs. The old mark was 109 by the 2009 club in 62 games. Also, this year’s squad has hit a school record 10 grand slams. Georgia is third nationally with a .596 slugging percentage while it is sixth in on base percentage at .435. The Bulldogs are batting .304 with a 5.39 team ERA and a .975 fielding percentage. The Commodores are batting .291 with 50 home runs, a .472 SLG% and .386 OB%. VU owns a 4.40 ERA and a .977 FLDG%.

*Top Hitters To Watch: The Bulldog offense is headlined by redshirt-sophomore All-America Charlie Condon. The potential top draft pick in 2024 according to MLB.com, he leads the NCAA with a .456 batting average, a school record 30 home runs, 186 total bases, a 1.088 SLG%. He has a .563 OB% (third nationally) with 37 walks (17 intentional) and 63 RBI. Senior Corey Collins is enjoying a fine year at .370-13-40 while leading the country with a .599 OB%. He ranks eighth nationally with an SEC-leading and school record 20 HBP this year.

Condon has smashed a school record 55 career home runs in only 100 games The old mark belonged to former first round draft pick Gordon Beckham (Chicago White Sox) who hit 53 in 197 games. This season, Condon has had seven games with multiple home runs including a school record-tying three home runs against Michigan State.

VU’s top hitters are Matthew Polk (.323-5-17), Jonathan Vastine (.322-7-32) while RJ Austin (.302-5-46) is 20-for-23 in stolen bases. VU is 78-for-90 in stolen base attempts.

Series History With VU: Georgia leads the series 124-117 going back to 1897. Georgia’s last series win came in 2021 in Nashville when the Commodores were ranked No. 1, and the Bulldogs beat them 14-2 and 9-1 while dropping the middle game 5-2. In 2022, VU won a series 2-1 in Athens which marked the last time the teams met in a Top 25 match. The Commodores were No. 14 and the Bulldogs were No. 16. Last year, No. 4 VU swept Georgia 9-2, 16-8 and 4-0.

Georgia-VU Pitching Matchups

G1-Leighton Finley (3-1, 5.10 ERA), RHP, So., vs. Bryce Cunningham (6-2, 3.98 ERA), RHP, Jr.

G2-Charlie Goldstein (4-1, 4.01 ERA), LHP, Gr., vs. Carter Holton, LHP, Jr.

G3-TBA vs. TBA

Goldstein was the Opening Day starter and served as the game one series starter this season until shoulder fatigue shut him down for a couple weeks in April. His last three appearances have been in relief, coming against Ole Miss, No. 4 Clemson and No. 1 Texas A&M. These outings tallied five innings, and he allowed just two runs on two hits with nine strikeouts and two walks. Finley moved into the top spot the past two SEC weekends and has gone five innings in each of his last three starts.

Rutherford Street Closure: Please note this season that one hour before game time, Rutherford Street, next to Foley Field, will be closed to vehicle traffic until 30 minutes post-game.

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