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BSB: UGA begins their second straight SEC road test starting tonight Starkville 

The No. 24 Georgia Bulldogs begin their second straight SEC road test and third in four weeks starting Friday night at No. 19 Mississippi State. 

Friday and Sunday’s games will be streamed on SECN+ while Saturday’s action will be on the SEC Network. The entire series will be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

Georgia (23-6, 4-5 SEC) opened conference by play in Lexington with Kentucky posting a sweep and now are off to an 8-1 start in the SEC with two road series wins. The Bulldogs returned home and swept No. 8 Alabama and then last weekend went 1-2 at No. 5 Tennessee. The home team has won 18 of the 21 series in league play this season. MSU enters Friday with a 19-11 mark and 4-5 in the SEC. MSU won a home series over then No. 2 LSU 2-1, and then went 1-2 at No. 7 Texas A&M and 1-2 at No. 6 Florida. The Gators posted two walk-offs to claim the series.

Bulldog Connections: Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball Coach Wes Johnson served as the pitching coach for MSU during the 2016 season when the Bulldogs went from worst to first. The 2016 MSU Bulldogs won the SEC regular season title and advanced to an NCAA Super Regional. Georgia assistant head coach Will Coggin played for MSU from 2007-08, has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from MSU and worked as a student assistant coach there from 2009-12 and assistant coach/recruiting coordinator from 2016-17. Georgia’s junior starting infielder Slate Alford spent his first two seasons with MSU, batting .229-10-39 in 71 games including 49 starts. The legendary Ron Polk, MSU’s Special Assistant to the Athletic Director, was Georgia’s head coach from 2000-2001. In his second and final season wearing the red and black before returning to MSU, Georgia won the SEC and advanced to the College World Series (CWS). He is one of only three college coaches to take three different teams to the CWS!

Top Hitters To Watch: Georgia leads the nation with 84 home runs and a .660 slugging percentage while batting .325. The Midseason Player of the Year according to D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game USA is Georgia redshirt sophomore infielder/outfielder Charlie Condon (.481-19-41, 1.130 SLG%, .593 OB%, 1.000 FLDG%). A projected 2024 first round draft pick, he entered the week leading the country in six offensive categories. After going 5-for-6 with two home runs and three RBI last Saturday, he has cooled off a bit, going 0-for-9 with one RBI in his past two games. Meanwhile, sophomore Dakota Jordan (.378-14-42, .838 SLG%, .514 OB%, 1.000 FLDG%) headlines an MSU offense that is batting .290 with 34 home runs and 35-for-39 in stolen base attempts.

Series History: MSU leads the all-time series 51-47 dating to 1916. Georgia claimed the 2022 series in Athens 2-1. MSU swept Georgia in 2019 in its last trip to Starkville. Georgia’s other trips to Starkville in the last 15 years came in 2010 and 2016 with MSU winning each of those 2-1. The Bulldogs last won a series over MSU in Starkville in 2008 when it went on to win the SEC and advance to the College World Series Finals.

Starting Rotation: Georgia will go with graduate left-hander Charlie Goldstein and sophomore RHP Leighton Finley in the first two games with Sunday’s starter TBA. MSU will announce their rotation Thursday afternoon.  

Last weekend, Georgia’s rotation against the No. 5 Vols featured Goldstein (4-0, 4.08) on Friday and, sophomore RHP Leighton Finley (2-1, 5.14) on Saturday. Goldstein got a win last Friday over the Vols, pitching six innings and scattering nine hits and two unearned runs with no walks and three strikeouts. Finely got a no decision (4IP, 5H, 6R, 3BB, 4K).

MSU’s starters in the UF series were junior RHP Khal Stephen (5-0, 1.91), sophomore ambidextrous pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (3-1, 3.34) and junior RHP Karson Ligon (0-0, 3.38). Stephen went six innings and allowed two runs on three hits with eight strikeouts. He got a no decision as UF rallied for three runs in the ninth. Cijntje fired an impressive seven innings and allowed just two run on five hits with eight strikeouts in a 12-2 win. Ligon was lifted in the third inning in Sunday’s game (2.1 IP, 1H, 1R, 3BB, 1K).

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Radio/TV/Live Stats Links

Friday at MSU, 7 p.m. ET (SECN+)

Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)

https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4588&type=Live

TV: SECN+ (Bart Gregory & Charlie Winfield)

https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/f71572d6-7645-4131-af97-7fc3c7aa69cb

Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=504793

Saturday at MSU, 8 p.m. ET (SEC Network)

Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)

https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4589&type=Live

TV: SECN (Dave Neal & Chris Burke)

https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/b0d91897-98e0-4618-b0bc-66ea018502de

Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=504794

Sunday at MSU, 2 p.m. ET (SECN+)

Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)

https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4590&type=Live

TV: SECN (Bart Gregory & Charlie Winfield)

https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/f489673b-b5c3-4cc4-aed7-3b3b41a27883

Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=504795

SB: No. 3 Georgia (30-6, 6-3) at No. 6/4 Tennessee (28-5, 8-1) series begins this evening in Knoxville

Dates: Friday, April 5-Sunday, April 7, 2024

First Pitch Times: 6 p.m. / 12 p.m. / 11 a.m.

Location: Knoxville, Tenn. 

Stadium: Sherri Parker Lee Stadium

Media Information

TV: SEC Network (Saturday) / ESPN 2 (Sunday)

   Play-by-play: Matt Schumaker

   Analysis: Amanda Scarborough

Streaming: SEC Network+ (Friday)

   Play-by-play: Myan Patel

   Analysis: Jill Jelnick

Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com

Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball

The third-ranked Georgia softball is back on the road this weekend for a three-game series at No. 6/4 Tennessee, beginning Friday at 6 p.m.

Saturday’s noon game will air on SEC Network with Sunday’s 11 a.m. finale set to air on ESPN2.

Follow the Bulldogs

– Friday game will stream live on SEC Network+. Myan Patel (play-by-play) and Jill Jelnick (analyst) will be on the call.

– Saturday and Sunday’s games will air on SEC Network and ESPN2, respectively. Matt Schumaker (play-by-play) and Amanda Scarborough (analyst) will be on the call.

– Live stat links can be found on the softball schedule page on GeorgiaDogs.com.

– Live Twitter updates will be available on the official Twitter page of Georgia softball, @UGAsoftball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN

Series History

– Georgia trails the all-time series 39-44

– The Bulldogs are 18-19 in Knoxville in the series

– Georgia dropped the most recent series in Knoxville in 2021, dropping the first two games of the three-game tilt

– Georgia won last season’s series in Athens; UGA has won three of the last four series dating back to 2018 in Knoxville

– Since the 2018 series in Knoxville, Georgia is 9-5 against the Lady Vols

Georgia in the Polls

Georgia in the Poll: Week 8

     – USA Today/NFCA: 3

     – ESPN/USA Softball: 3

     – D1Softball: 9

     – Softball America: 3

     – RPI: 5

Recapping Action

Georgia beat in-state foe Mercer 8-1 on Wednesday. Georgia eclipsed the 30-win mark with the victory.

The Bulldogs scattered 12 hits in the contest, led by Jaydyn Goodwin’s 3-for-3, two-double game. Sara Mosley and Sydney Kuma each picked up two hits, while Mosley drove in three of Georgia’s runs. Eight different Bulldogs recorded a hit Wednesday. Riley Orcutt pitched one and a third innings in her start, allowing no hits, one strikeout, and two walks. Shelby Walters (6-2) earned the win out of the pen, pitching two and two-thirds scoreless innings. She allowed two hits and struck out three. Rachel Gibson pitched one inning while Destin Howard pitched two.

A Look at What’s Ahead

Georgia returns home for a midweek game on Wednesday when Georgia State comes to town. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. The Bulldogs are back on the road quickly when they head to Kentucky April 12-14. The series kicks off Friday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m.

BSB: Charlie Condon named to the 2024 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List

Condon is one of 45 student-athletes on the watch list for the award which is given annually to the top player in all of Division I collegiate baseball. Earlier this week, the 6-6, 216-pound native of Marietta, Ga., was named the Midseason Player of the Year by D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game USA. An infielder/outfielder, he ranks among the NCAA leaders in batting (.481), hits (52), home runs (19), slugging percentage (1.130) and on base percentage (.593) while fielding 1.000 in 86 chances. He has made starts at third base, first base and all three outfield positions.

Condon is one of four players who were Golden Spikes Award semifinalists last season that returned this year. That group all made the 2024 midseason list and includes Condon, Jac Caglianone (Florida). Hagen Smith (Arkansas), and Tommy White (LSU). The most recent winners of the Golden Spikes Award are Dylan Crews (2023, LSU), Ivan Melendez (2022, Texas) and Kevin Kopps (2021, Arkansas).

“We are honored to acknowledge the top forty-five amateur players in the nation for their stellar performances so far this season,” said USA Baseball CEO/Executive Director Paul Seiler. “There is unbelievable talent up and down the entire amateur baseball landscape, and the players on this list represent the best of the best. We look forward to watching the rest of the season unfold as we move closer to naming the 46th winner of the prestigious Golden Spikes Award.”

The 2024 Golden Spikes Award timeline is as follows:

• May 20: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced, and fan voting begins
• June 3: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends
• June 5: Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, and fan voting begins
• June 21: Golden Spikes Award finalists’ fan voting ends
• June 22: Golden Spikes Award winner announced

Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2024. Baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, beginning on May 20 with the naming of the semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 5, and fan voting will once again open at GoldenSpikesAward.com before closing on June 21.

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