Christopher Lakos
Asst. Athletic Director, Sports Comm.
University of Georgia Athletic Association
Georgia faces the nation’s top scoring team in Wofford Tuesday at Foley Field with first pitch at 4:02 p.m. The game will be streamed on SECN+ and be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
The Bulldogs (17-4) saw their nine-game winning streak end Friday at Kentucky, and the Wildcats eventually swept the SEC opening series. Georgia entered SEC play as one of the nation’s top offensive teams, and after scoring 10 runs last Friday, the Wildcats held the Bulldogs to just five runs on six hits in the final two games. The Terriers (13-4), who average 11.9 runs a game to lead the NCAA, dropped a series with Charleston 2-1 this past weekend in Mount Pleasant, S.C. Still, the Bulldogs begin this week leading the NCAA with 56 home runs, are third in slugging percentage (.639) and fifth in on base percentage (.458).
Condon’s Corner: Sophomore All-America Charlie Condon leads the NCAA in batting (.521), hits (38) and on base percentage (.648) and is second in home runs (13) and slugging percentage (1.192). He has 23 walks and only 12 strikeouts this season. He went just 1-for-8 with a double, three RBI and five walks in the Kentucky series. This season, he has started all 21 games with nine at third base, four in left field, four in right field and two each at first base and centerfield. Condon has a 1.000 fielding percentage in 61 total chances.
In their first in-season 2024 MLB Mock Draft released Monday, Baseball America has Condon going No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Guardians, stating “Condon has been on another planet in the first few weeks of the 2024 season…has a chance for a plus hit tool with a 70-grade raw power which could be more than enough to make him the 1-1 pick in the 2024 draft class…Defensive versatility he has shown early this season won’t hurt either…He’s simply been the most dynamic player in the class.”
About Wofford: The Terriers are coached by J.J. Edwards. They rank second nationally in batting with a .359 average, first in on base percentage at .476 and fourth nationally in stolen bases (55-for-63). They own a 4.20 ERA and are fielding .985. Senior Dixon Black has a team-best .415 batting average. Junior Marshall Toole (406-4-20) is 15-for-15 in stolen bases, which ranks third nationally. Junior reliever Dylan Rhadans (0-0, 6.17 ERA) is the younger brother of former Bulldog reliever Dalton Rhadans. Dalton pitched for Wofford from 2019-22 and was a graduate transfer with the Bulldogs last season. He led the SEC during the regular season with 33 relief appearances, going 3-2 with a 4.26 ERA and two saves.
Series History: Georgia leads the all-time series over Wofford 13-0 dating to 1902. Last year, the Bulldogs edged the Terriers 10-8 at Foley Field.
Tuesday Pitching Matchup: Georgia will start senior righthander Zach DeVito (1-0, 1.80 ERA). It will be his first career start. He has made five relief appearances this year for a total of five innings. DeVito began his career as a reliever at Tulane where he made a combined 40 appearances from 2021-22. Last year, he was recovering from an internal brace procedure and was limited to 14 innings with the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs have used a staff approach in their midweek games this season. Wofford will counter with freshman righthander Alex Bouchard (0-1, 3.52 ERA). He pitched one scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts against Charleston this past Friday and has thrown 7.2 innings overall.
On Deck: On Friday, Georgia returns to SEC action when its faces No. 9 Alabama (17-3, 2-1 SEC). Game times are 6 p.m. (SECN+) on Friday, Noon (SECN) on Saturday and 1 p.m. (SECN+) on Sunday. Last weekend, the Bulldogs were swept at Kentucky while the Crimson Tide won a home series 2-1 over No. 5 Tennessee.
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