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BSB: Georgia Falls to Duke – Elimination Game Today

 Seventh-seeded Georgia dropped game four of the NCAA Athens Regional to Duke, 6-3, at Foley Field on Saturday evening.

Fast Facts:

• Georgia and Duke last faced each other in the 2018 NCAA Athens Regional, where the Blue Devils overtook the Bulldogs, 8-4.
• In his 10th start of the season, Brian Curley (4-4) suffered the loss and allowed four runs off eight hits over 4.1 innings. Duke’s starter Kyle Johnson (4-3) earned the win after tossing five innings and striking out six. James Tallon (2) got the save for the Blue Devils after he tallied five strikeouts across 2.2 innings.
• Ryland Zaborowski put the Bulldogs on the board in the second with his 17th home run of the season. 
• To lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, Henry Hunter launched a solo home run, his 11th of the year.
• Tre Phelps extended his hit streak to 13 games with a single through the right side in the sixth.

Video Highlights

Postgame Interviews

Key Quotes

Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Wes Johnson
On the performance in the loss…
Their guy Kyle Johnson came out tonight, and you’ve got to tip your hat to him. I think he had 14 walks and five strikeouts coming into tonight, and he didn’t walk anybody and struck out six. He had his stuff and commanded it. We knew going in, he was a good, talented arm, and it came together for him tonight. He held us down. We had our chances though. You look at the sixth, seventh, eighth and even in the ninth, we had chances to break it open with the right guys at the plate. They made some pitches. The double play there when Robbie [Burnett] hit the ball to first base, that took a little wind out of our sail, but you can’t do a whole lot about that. He hit the ball hard, and the base runner can’t get back on that. The guy fell back on it and made another play. Slate [Alford] hit the ball really hard down the line, but tip your hat to the third baseman, who made a really nice play. He lays out, gets up, throws him out. Those are momentum plays, and when you’re going up against some arms like we did tonight, you need one or two of those to go your way. But hey, we’ve got a lot of pitching left, and we get to play again tomorrow at 12 p.m.” 

Game Three
In the first game of the day, Oklahoma State eliminated Binghamton, 13-5.

Fast Facts:

• Oklahoma State’s Stormy Rhodes (1-1) was the winning pitcher with 2.1 innings pitched, three hits allowed and one strikeout. Binghamton’s Hayden Tarsia (4-4) received the loss, allowing five runs off of six hits in 2.2 innings.
• Oklahoma State’s Kollin Ritchie (3-4, 4 RBI, 2B, 2 HR, BB), Colin Brueggemann (2-4, RBI, HR) and Ian Daugherty (2-5, RBI, HR) hit three consecutive home runs in the third inning.
• In Saturday’s game, 10 home runs were hit by eight different players — seven by Oklahoma State and three by Binghamton. 
• The Bearcats finished the season with an overall record of 29-26 and made their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2022.

Box Score

Up Next: Georgia will play Oklahoma State in an elimination game on Sunday at noon. Duke will play the winner of game five at 6 p.m. 

Wes Johnson’s Path to Athens

Wes Johnson’s path to becoming the head baseball coach at the University of Georgia is anything but conventional. Unlike many college coaches who rose through the traditional ranks of collegiate baseball, Johnson carved his name into coaching lore with a rare trajectory that took him from the college diamond to Major League Baseball—and back again, bringing a wealth of professional insight with him to Athens.

Johnson’s coaching career began in earnest at the junior college level, where he quickly earned a reputation as one of the brightest pitching minds in the game. His early stints at institutions like Central Arkansas and Dallas Baptist University weren’t high-profile, but they were pivotal. Johnson turned those programs into competitive, pitcher-friendly destinations, making enough noise to draw attention from the SEC—a league where pitching reputations are made or broken.

He entered the conference with Mississippi State, where his impact was immediate. Johnson’s staff helped guide the Bulldogs to a College World Series appearance in 2018, but it wasn’t just about results—it was about innovation. Before it became mainstream, he was a data-savvy coach, leaning heavily on biomechanics, spin rate analysis, and individualized development plans that mirrored MLB-level methodology.

His success caught the eyes of the big leagues. In a groundbreaking move that raised eyebrows across the college and pro ranks, Johnson jumped directly from the college level to MLB in 2019, joining the Minnesota Twins as their pitching coach. It marked the first time a sitting college coach had been hired for such a significant league-level role in decades. In Minnesota, he oversaw one of baseball’s most dramatic pitching turnarounds, helping the Twins to a 101-win season and a Central Division title.

Still, the call of college baseball never left him. In 2022, he made another high-profile leap from the Twins to LSU, returning to the SEC as the Tigers’ pitching coach. That move stunned the baseball world. Why would a man with a secure MLB job return to the volatile world of college coaching? The answer lay in Johnson’s deep-rooted passion for development, recruiting, and the holistic approach that college baseball allows.

That passion made him the perfect hire for Georgia in June 2023. The Bulldogs needed a program reset, and Johnson offered the ideal blend of elite-level experience and forward-thinking strategy. At Georgia, he’s tasked with building a championship-contending program in the deepest conference in the country. His immediate impact on the pitching staff, recruiting momentum, and team culture has turned heads quickly.

Wes Johnson didn’t take the typical route to a college head coaching gig. But that’s precisely what makes him such a compelling fit for Georgia. He’s been where most college coaches dream of going—the majors—and returned with a toolbox that few in the NCAA can match. His career isn’t just a story of success; it’s a blueprint for the future of college baseball leadership.

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