University of Georgia Athletics
Thursday, May 16
Athens, Ga.
6 p.m.
University of Georgia
vs
Florida
No. 8 Bulldogs Battle Gators Starting Thursday At Foley Field
May 15, 2024 | Baseball
ATHENS, Ga.-----The eighth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs close out the regular season by playing host to Florida here Thursday with first pitch slated for 6:02 p.m. The entire series will be streamed on SEC Network+ and be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Georgia (38-12, 16-11 SEC) enters the final SEC series as the hottest team in the league on an eight-game winning streak in year one of the Wes Johnson era. This stretch includes back-to-back sweeps of No. 13 Vanderbilt at Foley Field and No. 14 South Carolina in Columbia. The last time Georgia swept a pair of ranked teams in consecutive weeks came in 2008. Florida arrives in town with a 26-25 overall mark and 11-16 in the SEC.
Hire This Man: Selected by J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks to lead the Bulldog baseball program last June, Wes Johnson already has set the record for most overall wins and most SEC wins by a Georgia baseball coach in his first season. Also, he will be only the second Georgia baseball coach in school history to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament in his first season, joining David Perno who did it in 2002.
Stay Hot: The Bulldogs rank third nationally with a school record 133 home runs. Also, this year's squad has hit a school record 11 grand slams. Georgia is third nationally with a .607 slugging percentage and .440 on base percentage. The Bulldogs are batting .307 with a 5.31 team ERA and a .972 fielding percentage. The Gators are batting .273 with 107 home runs, a .513 SLG% and .383 OB%. UF owns a 6.20 ERA and a .980 FLDG%.
Top Hitters: The Bulldog offense is headlined by sophomore All-America Charlie Condon. The potential top draft pick in 2024 according to MLB.com, he leads the NCAA with a .454 batting average, a school record 34 home runs (2nd in SEC single season history), 210 total bases, and a 1.082 SLG%. He has a .567 OB% (third nationally) with 46 walks (22 intentional) and 72 RBI. He has a 21-game hitting streak. Senior Corey Collins is enjoying a fine year at .367-16-49 while leading the country with a .598 OB%. He ranks fifth nationally with an SEC-leading and school record 24 HBP this year. Freshman Tre Phelps checks in at .385-9-32. Condon has smashed a school record 59 career home runs in only 106 games This season, Condon has had seven games with multiple home runs including a school record-tying three home runs against Michigan State.
UF's top power hitters are two-way standout Jac Caglianone (.418-28-55; 5-1, 4.07 ERA) and Colby Shelton (.261-18-44) while Ty Evans (.316-13-43) was injured last week in the Kentucky series.
Starting Rotation: Georgia's rotation will feature sophomore right-hander Kolten Smith (8-2, 4.72 ERA) on Thursday, sophomore right-hander Leighton Finley (5-1, 4.45 ERA) on Friday and TBA for Saturday. UF will counter with sophomore left-hander Pierce Coppola (0-2, 7.27 ERA) on Thursday, freshman right-hander Liam Peterson (2-4, 5.92 ERA) for Friday and junior LHP Jac Caglianone (5-1, 4.07 ERA) on Saturday.
Series History: The Gators leads the series 191-101-2 going back to 1931. The Bulldogs have won six straight over UF at Foley Field, sweeping them in 2022 (7-6, 6-1 and 14-8) and in 2019 (6-4, 9-1{7} and 4-1 {7}). UF won the series last year in Gainesville 2-1. Georgia claimed the opener 13-11 after seven-run outburst in the ninth. Charlie Condon hit three home runs that night while Connor Tate smashed a grand slam in the ninth to lead the attack. The Gators came back to win 2-1 and 11-6 to take the series.
Georgia In The Top 25 Polls: An array of top 25 polls are released each week. The Bulldogs are a consensus top 10 team this week including No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches poll.
SEC Baseball Tournament On Deck: Slated for May 21-26 at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala., the SEC Tournament is for the top 12 teams with the best SEC winning percentage. Currently, the Bulldogs are the No. 5 seed. Seeds 5-12 open the tournament on Tuesday while the top four seeds get a bye and begin play on Wednesday. The SEC Tournament bracket will be released this weekend once all the games are complete.
Radio/TV/Live Stats Links for Georgia-UF Series
Thursday @ 6:02 p.m. ET
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4609&type=Live
TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/faaa0eba-7e2f-4a51-960e-34589f63d711
Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Friday @ 6:02 p.m. ET
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
X https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4610&type=Live
TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3065196d-f088-4b82-807e-4c85040d35ed
Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Saturday @ 2:02 p.m. ET
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4611&type=Live
TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/e0a1c0a5-6eaf-496c-bc96-e86659a34761
Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Foley Field Tickets/Parking/Promotions Information
*Limited General Admission Seating for Thursday & Friday Only: $10; Saturday is Sold Out
*Call 1-877-542-1231 or order online at https://georgiadogs.evenue.net/list/BBS
*Foley Field Gates/Ticket Windows open one hour before game time.
*Free parking is available in the commuter surface lot behind the outfield.
*Please note this season Rutherford Street, next to Foley Field, will be closed to vehicle traffic one hour prior to baseball games until 30 minutes post-game.
*UGA Student Tickets: Free Admission with UGA ID; Enter Student Gate G on Rutherford Street
*Special Promotions/Giveaways: Thursday: 1st 300 UGA Students get a free Georgia Hat; Friday: The first 750 fans get a free mini-bat; Also UGA's legendary retiring men's tennis coach Manuel Diaz will throw out the first pitch. He is the SEC's all-time winningest coach with six national titles and spent 36 seasons at the helm; Saturday: Foley Fest and Senior Day Recognition (pre-game); Children can participate in Anthem Buddies pregame and Run the Bases postgame
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS: For the latest Georgia baseball news, visit www.georgiadogs.com and follow the Bulldogs on X (@BaseballUGA), Facebook (@GeorgiaBaseball) and Instagram (@baseballuga).
Georgia (38-12, 16-11 SEC) enters the final SEC series as the hottest team in the league on an eight-game winning streak in year one of the Wes Johnson era. This stretch includes back-to-back sweeps of No. 13 Vanderbilt at Foley Field and No. 14 South Carolina in Columbia. The last time Georgia swept a pair of ranked teams in consecutive weeks came in 2008. Florida arrives in town with a 26-25 overall mark and 11-16 in the SEC.
Hire This Man: Selected by J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks to lead the Bulldog baseball program last June, Wes Johnson already has set the record for most overall wins and most SEC wins by a Georgia baseball coach in his first season. Also, he will be only the second Georgia baseball coach in school history to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament in his first season, joining David Perno who did it in 2002.
Stay Hot: The Bulldogs rank third nationally with a school record 133 home runs. Also, this year's squad has hit a school record 11 grand slams. Georgia is third nationally with a .607 slugging percentage and .440 on base percentage. The Bulldogs are batting .307 with a 5.31 team ERA and a .972 fielding percentage. The Gators are batting .273 with 107 home runs, a .513 SLG% and .383 OB%. UF owns a 6.20 ERA and a .980 FLDG%.
Top Hitters: The Bulldog offense is headlined by sophomore All-America Charlie Condon. The potential top draft pick in 2024 according to MLB.com, he leads the NCAA with a .454 batting average, a school record 34 home runs (2nd in SEC single season history), 210 total bases, and a 1.082 SLG%. He has a .567 OB% (third nationally) with 46 walks (22 intentional) and 72 RBI. He has a 21-game hitting streak. Senior Corey Collins is enjoying a fine year at .367-16-49 while leading the country with a .598 OB%. He ranks fifth nationally with an SEC-leading and school record 24 HBP this year. Freshman Tre Phelps checks in at .385-9-32. Condon has smashed a school record 59 career home runs in only 106 games This season, Condon has had seven games with multiple home runs including a school record-tying three home runs against Michigan State.
UF's top power hitters are two-way standout Jac Caglianone (.418-28-55; 5-1, 4.07 ERA) and Colby Shelton (.261-18-44) while Ty Evans (.316-13-43) was injured last week in the Kentucky series.
Starting Rotation: Georgia's rotation will feature sophomore right-hander Kolten Smith (8-2, 4.72 ERA) on Thursday, sophomore right-hander Leighton Finley (5-1, 4.45 ERA) on Friday and TBA for Saturday. UF will counter with sophomore left-hander Pierce Coppola (0-2, 7.27 ERA) on Thursday, freshman right-hander Liam Peterson (2-4, 5.92 ERA) for Friday and junior LHP Jac Caglianone (5-1, 4.07 ERA) on Saturday.
Series History: The Gators leads the series 191-101-2 going back to 1931. The Bulldogs have won six straight over UF at Foley Field, sweeping them in 2022 (7-6, 6-1 and 14-8) and in 2019 (6-4, 9-1{7} and 4-1 {7}). UF won the series last year in Gainesville 2-1. Georgia claimed the opener 13-11 after seven-run outburst in the ninth. Charlie Condon hit three home runs that night while Connor Tate smashed a grand slam in the ninth to lead the attack. The Gators came back to win 2-1 and 11-6 to take the series.
Georgia In The Top 25 Polls: An array of top 25 polls are released each week. The Bulldogs are a consensus top 10 team this week including No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches poll.
SEC Baseball Tournament On Deck: Slated for May 21-26 at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala., the SEC Tournament is for the top 12 teams with the best SEC winning percentage. Currently, the Bulldogs are the No. 5 seed. Seeds 5-12 open the tournament on Tuesday while the top four seeds get a bye and begin play on Wednesday. The SEC Tournament bracket will be released this weekend once all the games are complete.
Radio/TV/Live Stats Links for Georgia-UF Series
Thursday @ 6:02 p.m. ET
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4609&type=Live
TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/faaa0eba-7e2f-4a51-960e-34589f63d711
Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Friday @ 6:02 p.m. ET
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
X https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4610&type=Live
TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3065196d-f088-4b82-807e-4c85040d35ed
Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Saturday @ 2:02 p.m. ET
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4611&type=Live
TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/e0a1c0a5-6eaf-496c-bc96-e86659a34761
Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Foley Field Tickets/Parking/Promotions Information
*Limited General Admission Seating for Thursday & Friday Only: $10; Saturday is Sold Out
*Call 1-877-542-1231 or order online at https://georgiadogs.evenue.net/list/BBS
*Foley Field Gates/Ticket Windows open one hour before game time.
*Free parking is available in the commuter surface lot behind the outfield.
*Please note this season Rutherford Street, next to Foley Field, will be closed to vehicle traffic one hour prior to baseball games until 30 minutes post-game.
*UGA Student Tickets: Free Admission with UGA ID; Enter Student Gate G on Rutherford Street
*Special Promotions/Giveaways: Thursday: 1st 300 UGA Students get a free Georgia Hat; Friday: The first 750 fans get a free mini-bat; Also UGA's legendary retiring men's tennis coach Manuel Diaz will throw out the first pitch. He is the SEC's all-time winningest coach with six national titles and spent 36 seasons at the helm; Saturday: Foley Fest and Senior Day Recognition (pre-game); Children can participate in Anthem Buddies pregame and Run the Bases postgame
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS: For the latest Georgia baseball news, visit www.georgiadogs.com and follow the Bulldogs on X (@BaseballUGA), Facebook (@GeorgiaBaseball) and Instagram (@baseballuga).
Players Mentioned
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