Combine the wins Georgia continues to add to its ledger with Charlie Condon setting records with every home run, and there’s been no shortage of excitement this year at Foley Field.
Sunday’s finale against Vanderbilt was another example.
The Bulldogs finished a sweep of the No. 13 Commodores with an 11-7 win, a victory punctuated by Condon’s 33rd home run.
What Condon continues to accomplish can only be described by one word – amazing.
Not only did Sunday’s homer mark the seventh straight game in which he’s gone deep, but No. 33 also ties him with Florida’s Jac Caglianone who hit 33 in 71 games last year for Florida.
Condon’s sixth-inning home run came in Georgia’s 47th game.
The SEC record for home runs is 40 set by LSU’s Brett Larson in 1997. It took Larson 69 games to reach the mark, coming in the Tigers’ College World Series run that season. The NCAA record for home runs in 48 set by former big leaguer Pete Incaviglia in 1985
“Some days, it feels better than others, but that’s baseball,” Condon said. “You just need to keep putting in work to get yourself in the best position to succeed every day because things don’t come and go overnight, it’s about showing up and being ready to go every day and put quality at-bats together.”
Condon’s home run came on a 3-1 pitch from Vandy freshman Luke Guth.
Head coach Wes Johnson predicted in the dugout that something special might happen. It did. Condon’s blast traveled 418 feet with an exit velocity of 107 mph high over the fence in left-center field.
“Charlie was seeing the ball well, I won’t lie to you, and he hasn’t done it many times, but when he went on deck, he said if this guy’s still in the game I’m going to stick him,” Johnson said. “He said ‘I’m seeing it well.’ He didn’t say anything at home, I just knew he was going to hit it hard. So when it got to 3-1, I looked over and said this is going to get loud.”
It turned out Condon’s homer was the difference in Georgia’s win, as the Commodores rallied for four runs in the eighth to draw within three before Chandler Marsh closed out the victory by retiring all four batters he faced.
Despite a few anxious moments, the Bulldogs are surging at just the right time of the year.
With their first series sweep of 13th-ranked Vanderbilt since 2003, Georgia (35-12, 13-11) continues to not only push for a spot in the NCAA Tournament but possibly serve as host for one of the 16 regional sites as well.
“We’re in control of whatever it is that we want,” Condon said. “We can still do anything. We can host, and we can bring the playoffs back to us which would be really fun. It’s just really good to see this team compete on both sides of the ball like we did this weekend. I feel it’s the most complete we’ve played as a group this year. It’s exciting to see this time of year.”
Johnson said he’s thrilled his players are thinking about hosting and talking about it out loud.
“This league is really hard, but if you don’t even think about it, if you don’t ever lay in your bed at night and see yourself doing things here, then how are you ever doing to do it?” Johnson said. “You’ve got to talk about it. It shouldn’t be this unicorn. You first have to talk about it, then you’ve got to think about it, and then believe you can do it. That’s kind of where we’re at.”
Condon’s homer wasn’t the only long ball for the Bulldogs.
Dylan Goldstein launched his 12th of the year following Condon, capping the team’s four-run sixth after going up 6-0 with a run in the second and five in the third.
Along with Condon, freshman Tre Phelps went 2 for 4 with three RBI, including a single in the eighth to bring him a huge insurance run.
Georgia Southern transfer Zach Harris earned the win with four innings of no-hit work with two walks and five strikeouts.
Over his last two outings, Harris (5-0) has pitched seven innings, with zero hits, three walks, and 10 strikeouts.
Marsh, who followed Brian Zeldin and Christin Mracna, earned his first save.
“Coach has been preaching all season about having confidence and conviction,” Harris said. “Knowing that our team is feared in general, the G has some fear to it. I just didn’t need to go out there scared, have some confidence, and know I’m a good pitcher with belief in my pitches. Just go out there and execute.”
