Column: A crazy, memorable season has come down to this
As Georgia prepares to play its biggest game at Foley Field since the finals of the 2008 Super Regionals, Bulldog head coach Wes Johnson's message to his players will be one they’ve heard countless times already in 2024.
After all, it’s just baseball.
“I think that’s why your message all year has to be, 'it’s just baseball.' Emotions can take you the wrong way a lot of times. If we can keep our emotions in check – and every day you go to play this game you understand that it’s just that game that day – then when these games come around, guys don’t get sped up,” Johnson said. “So, my message won’t change tomorrow. It’s the same it’s been for these guys: ‘Hey, it’s another game tomorrow.’ And you better be locked in on both sides of the baseball; be focused. If we do that, it’s going to put us in a position to have success. It’s not going to guarantee that you will, but it’s going to put you in position to have success. That’ll be our message tomorrow and that’ll be our plan.”
There have been some big games played at Foley Field.
Monday night’s Game 3 (7 p.m., ESPN) of the Athens Super Regional will be one of the larger ones. The winner goes to the College World Series.
History has a strange way of repeating itself.
It was North Carolina State that Georgia conquered in the finals of the Athens Super Regional in 2008 to move on to Omaha.
During his post-game interview on ESPN2, starting and winning pitcher Leighton Finley wasn’t shy when asked about the position the Bulldogs now find themselves.
"All we had to do was win today and we're going to get rolling,” Finley said. “Coming into the game today, all we had to do was win one. Now we're going to get going. We're going to bring that into tomorrow."
The college baseball world will have its eyes fixed on Athens for sure.
Even Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent admits the game will be special – for his team and fans.
“That’s why everybody watches sports. You may not watch the NBA, but you’ll watch Game 7 of the finals. You may not watch hockey, but you’ll watch Game 7 of the Stanley Cup,” Avent said. “You may not watch football, but you’ll probably go to a Super Bowl party, right? Everybody is watching Game 3.”
For Georgia, it’s certainly an opportunity most never expected the Bulldogs to have.
With a first-year head coach, and 28 new players, few people predicted that Georgia would be in position for a trip back to Omaha for the first time in 16 years.
But here we are. One game and one win away from doing exactly that. If the Bulldogs can bottle Sunday’s performance, you’ve got to like Georgia’s chances.
A rowdy crowd at Foley Field will undoubtedly be ready to greet the Wolfpack, which as we’ve seen throughout the postseason, can make a difference for the home team.
It should be quite the show with the team best able to keep it together mentally and physically coming away with the win.
Stay tuned.
