No. 18 Bulldogs Battle No. 13 Vandy At Foley Field

ATHENS----- The 18^th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs play host to No. 13 Vanderbilt starting Friday at 6:02 pm. Saturday's game, which is sold out and features Foley Fest, will be at 2:02 p.m. Sunday's game, which will be the annual Lettermen's Day, 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.

Radio/TV/Live Stats Links

Friday at 6:02 p.m. ET (SECN+)
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4603&type=Live

TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/2af78dc8-5b53-4514-b2ed-cd668859b496

Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Saturday at 2:02 p.m. ET (SECN)
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4604&type=Live

TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/7e1c7e1b-e60a-4e0f-bb61-797521b71ed6

Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Sunday at 1:02 p.m. ET (SECN+)
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4605&type=Live

TV: SECN+ (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3d065185-3374-4167-8fd8-b626b65f675d

Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Foley Field Tickets/Parking/Promotions Information
*Limited General Admission Seating for Friday & Sunday 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: Friday: 1^st 500 fans get a free Georgia Hawaiian shirt; Saturday: Foley Fest and Georgia Mini Batting Helmet for the 1^st 1,000 fans; Georgia Radio Crew (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston) Recognition (pregame/1^st pitch); Sunday: Lettermen's Day (pregame, three awards presented); 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).

University of Georgia Athletics

Players Mentioned

Corey Collins

Charlie Condon

Leighton Finley

Charlie Goldstein

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