Georgia fell short of reaching Omaha on Monday night. The Dawgs’ best season since 2008 officially comes to a close. NC State totaled 15 hits and defeated Georgia with a final score of 8-5. The season comes to an end, but the future is bright for Georgia baseball under the leadership of Wes Johnson. Georgia has already added multiple top-rated players from the transfer portal, so this is only the beginning.

Zach Harris opened as Georgia’s starting pitcher. NC State fell scoreless in the first inning. Serrano III bounced it off the wall for a double. Then, Pennington popped out and Makarewicz grounded out to second. Serrano III advanced but was left at third after Jacob Cozart grounded out to short. Georgia’s first three batters went three up, three down, and the score was tied at zero entering the second inning.

The second inning also left NC State scoreless. Butterworth popped out to right field. Alex Sosa nailed a ball for a single that barely made it past Corey Collins’ glove. Harris recorded his first strikeout of the night against Luke Nixon. Matt Heavner grounded between infielders deep right, leaving runners on first and second. Noah Soles popped out to center, stranding both runners. Georgia took the lead during the second inning after Dylan Goldstein walked, battling back from a 1-2 count. Tre Phelps launched a home run just right of the batter’s eye. Dillon Carter struck out looking, and Gonzalez and Chadwick grounded out to end the inning. The Dawgs had a 2-0 lead heading into the third.

NC State bounced back in the top of the third. Serrano III line drove to center for a single, then Garrett Pennington fed the trees with a 2-run homer left of the batter’s eye. Harris recorded his second strikeout of the night against Alec Makarewicz. Jacob Cozart grounded deep between right and center, resulting in a single. Butterworth flew out deep down the third base foul line, and Cozart remained at first. Alex Sosa split the gap again between right and center, and Cozart advanced to third. Wes Johnson briefly met with Harris, but he remained on the mound. He recorded his third and final strikeout of the game facing Luke Nixon. Georgia had another three up, three down situation from the 9, 1, and 2 spots in the order. The score was all tied up at 2.

Box Score

Matt Heavner led off the fourth inning with a double deep left field. Johnson elected to replace Harris with Kolten Smith. Smith walked the first batter he faced, Noah Soles. Serrano III had a sac bunt that moved runners to second and third. A Kolten Smith wild pitch allowed Heavner to score and Soles to advance to third. Pennington struck out swinging. Alec Makarewicz drove in Soles with a single. Jacob Cozard lined out to Kolby Branch due to a successful Georgia shift. NC State led 4-2. Bats remained relatively cold for the Dawgs. Slate Alford struck out swinging. Dylan Goldstein flew out to center. True freshman Tre Phelps stayed hot, singling deep left. Dillon Carter struck out looking. Heading into the fifth inning, NC State had 9 hits, and Georgia only had 2, both from Tre Phelps.

Kolten Smith’s best showing came in the top of the fifth inning. Although Brandon Butterworth led off with a single, Smith answered and struck out Alex Sosa. Luke Nixon grounded deep, allowing Butterworth to advance to third. A slight fielding error let Nixon advance to second on the play. Matt Heavner, who was 2-2 going into the at-bat, struck out. Noah Soles ended the top of the fifth with a ground out to Slate Alford, stranding runners on 2nd and 3rd. Georgia bats slightly came to life during the bottom of the fifth. Gonzalez led off fouling out past the first base line. Clayton Chadwick drilled a hit down the first base foul line for a double. Kolby Branch then split the NC State shortstop and third baseman for a single, advancing Chadwick to third. Corey Collins was hit by a pitch. Bases were loaded with one out. Charlie Condon was up to bat. NC State brought in freshman pitcher Jacob Dudan. Dudan struck out #1 MLB Prospect Charlie Condon, then Slate Alford grounded out to second. Georgia was unable to convert any runs from the bases-loaded situation. The score remained 4-2, NC State held the lead.

Eli Serrano III launched a home run over the scoreboard to open up the sixth inning. Garrett Pennington grounded out to second, and UGA chants erupted as an NC State fan was kicked out of the game. Makarewicz struck out swinging. Jacob Cozart grounded out to second. NC State expanded their lead to 3 runs. Dylan Goldstein cut it close, grounding down the second baseline, but was gunned down at first. Once again, Tre Phelps recorded a single. Dillon Carter grounded deep into left field, and Phelps made it to third. Fernando Gonzalez hit a sac fly deep right, allowing Phelps to score. Dillon Carter remained on first. Dudan walked Clayton Chadwick on a full count. Kolby Branch, with runners on first and second, struck out swinging. NC State’s lead was back to two runs.

Brandon Butterworth led off in the top of the seventh, hitting a to Corey Collins. Alex Sosa hit a home run deep right to the fans sitting on Kudzu Hill. Brian Zeldin replaced Kolten Smith, and even after pitching just over two innings on Sunday, as Wes Johnson said, all hands were on deck. Luke Nixon bunted straight down the first base line and was tagged out by Corey Collins. Matt Heavner flew out to right field. The Dawgs were back at the top of the order. Dudan walked Corey Collins, then hit Charlie Condon with a pitch. Derrick Smith replaced Jacob Dudan at the mound. Slate Alford nearly hit one out on Smith’s first pitch, but it was snagged at the wall by NC State CF Eli Serrano III. Collins advanced to third and Condon stayed at first. Dylan Goldstein hit a sac ground-out to first, but Collins scored and Condon moved to second. Tre Phelps flew out. NC State held a 2-run lead.

NC State would go on to score two more runs in the top of the eighth. With two outs, Alec Makarewicz went yard to the left of the scoreboard for a 2-run homer. They held an 8-4 lead as Dillon Carter took the plate. Carter struck out on a full count. Fernando Gonzalez walked, working his way back from a 0-2 count. Clayton Chadwick barely missed reaching first on what seemed to be a controversial call. Georgia challenged the play, but it was upheld. Kolby Branch struck out. NC State’s 4-run lead remained.

NC State went three up, three down, in the top of the ninth. Georgia was back at the top of the order and had just three outs to work with. Corey Collins lined out to right field. Charlie Condon’s final at-bat of his college career was fitting, as he hit a homer right to Kudzu Hill. Slate Alford walked, and there were two dawgs on base with one out. Dylan Goldstein popped out to second. With the final at-bat of the season, Tre Phelps flew out to center, and Georgia’s 2024 season was officially over.

Once again, the future of Georgia Baseball is bright with Wes Johnson at the helm. This is only the beginning.