Florida at No. 8 Georgia
WHERE: Foley Field
WHEN: Friday, 1 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 29-12, 17-11; Florida 26-26, 11-17
As much as Charlie Condon’s bat and those of his teammates continue to be the major story for Georgia’s baseball team, the emergence of sophomore Kolten Smith cannot be overlooked.
As the 8th-ranked Bulldogs continue their post-season drive, Smith has become the shutdown arm that no future opponent wants to see.
There's no better example than his effort Thursday night against Florida.
Before a Foley Field crowd of 3,900, the Ocala, Florida native pitched the game of his career as Georgia won its ninth straight game, rolling past the Gators, 9-4.
“We talk all the time about keeping the ball out of the middle of the zone,” Smith said. “But I’ve got a great catcher (Fernando Gonzalez) who makes me look good back there, and with Wes (Johnson) calling the pitches, I’ve got a lot of confidence in that.”
Smith (9-2) was brilliant.
The right-hander’s eight innings were a career-high, as were his 12 strikeouts, which were the most by a Georgia pitcher this year.
Smith’s only walk was an intentional one to Gator slugger Jac Caglianone. He only allowed four hits, while his 12 strikeouts boosted Smith’s season total to 94 in just 61.2 innings.
Johnson was asked after the game where the Bulldogs’ pitching staff would be without the job Smith has done.
“That’s a great question, and I don’t know. But I can tell you this, that young man tonight took that baseball, and it was fun to watch,” Johnson said. “He executed multiple pitches in the strike zone. People always ask, how do you rack up strikeouts; it’s because you’re around the zone and you’re able to command pitches. Kolten did a phenomenal job. The cutter, the slider, the fastball—he threw a few good changeups, and even dumped a couple of 12-6s (curveballs) in there.”
Smith deadpanned he was always going back out for the eighth inning.
“I told Coach I was going back out,” Smith said.
“He did. When they’re like that, and we have a lot of metrics which I don’t talk about, but everything we had said he had a few more in him,” Johnson said. “The great thing about that was, he was still commanding the ball, and that’s huge. When he said I’m going back out, I said, ‘You got it.’”
The effort by Smith and the rest of his teammates also enabled the Bulldogs to take another step toward a possible national seed.
Georgia (39-12, 17-11) still needs to win the series, but with a current RPI of #3 (per WarrenNolan.com), the Bulldogs are doing everything they can to force the selection committee’s hand.
“It’s all about momentum, and the Dawgs are getting pretty hot right now,” center fielder Dillon Carter said. “It’s the late part of the season, and everybody is firing on all cylinders. We’ve just got to keep rolling.”
Carter, who was making his first start in over a month, helped spearhead Georgia’s offense by going 2 for 5 with two home runs.
Left fielder Paul Toetz went 3 for 3 with a two-run homer and three RBI for the Bulldogs, who received two hits apiece from Tre Phelps and Sebastian Murillo. Georgia outhit the Gators, 12-6.
Georgia jumped out to a 4-0 lead, scoring three runs in the first, two on a two-run opposite-field homer by Toetz, followed by Carter’s solo shot in the second.
Smith allowed a pair of solo home runs, but that was it as Georgia tacked on three more runs in the fifth for a 7-2 lead before Carter’s second home run plated the Bulldogs’ final runs.
The Bulldogs’ win also dealt a severe blow to the postseason hopes of Florida (26-26, 11-17), which needs to finish .500 to be eligible for the NCAA Tournament, should the selection committee deem the Gators worthy of a bid.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, what the emotions are. It’s one pitch at a time. You’ve got to focus, and you can’t give away at-bats, and you can’t give away pitches in the strike zone” Johnson said. “We’re doing a really good job of that, and we need to continue doing that (Friday), because they’re going to be desperate again tomorrow."
