Conference play in the SEC is one of the stingiest, grittiest dogfights on the diamond across America. Triple-digit arms, pro-ready bats, and flashes of leather often seen only on the next level are all common themes of any matchup of heavyweight baseball titans all throughout the conference, and this past weekend (versus the mighty Tennessee Volunteers) brought all of that and more.
Heading into the opening series of conference play, Georgia stood at 15-3, showing immense power and leading the nation in home runs. Players such as Daniel Jackson, Tre Phelps, and Brennan Hudson have elevated Wes Johnson’s fine-tuned athletic machine into an offensive powerhouse never too far out of a ballgame, but this weekend brought the stiffest challenge yet.
The series opener on Friday brought early drama, with a back-and-forth battle of offensive strikes throughout the game. Daniel Jackson struck a palpable blow to take the lead in the fifth, but his effort wasn’t enough as the Vols stormed back to end up sealing the victory in a 7-4 loss for the Dawgs.
Saturday brought an opportunity to turn the page, though, and the Dawgs did not disappoint. A solid outing from Dylan Vigue in 4.2 innings allowed the team to find a slow rhythm offensively against an experienced Vols staff in order to bounce back with a 4-2 victory to get the team back in the win column. Vigue, a transfer portal addition, has been one of the more consistent and available arms for the Dawgs this season, and his performance Saturday, striking out five while only allowing two earned runs, helped Georgia climb back even in the series. Caden Aoki additionally settled the dust for Georgia with a steady arm, bringing four valuable innings out of the bullpen to seal the game, giving up zero runs and saving the bullpen for a final clash of titans on the Sunday matinee game.
However, Sunday brought out all that any fan could ask for and more. Offensively, Georgia had been relatively silenced during the first two meetings of the weekend compared to their offensive prowess found through the first third of the season, but all of this changed on Sunday with their eight-run showing. Kenny Ishikawa made his long-awaited return to the diamond since his early-season ankle injury, but it did not go exactly as planned. Ishikawa, another notable portal addition, was highly touted as our very own version of the global superstar Shohei Ohtani, but his ability to showcase his talent on both sides of the field has been thwarted until the weekend due to his injury. His outing on the mound lasted only two innings, with him allowing four early runs, but all Dawg fans were simply grateful to see him healthy again on the field. Georgia was able to put together an eight-run performance on only seven hits throughout the afternoon, but their selective hits came in crucial moments, allowing them to eventually gain an advantage in the scoring column. Tre Phelps used a wonderful eye at the plate, going 1-2 on the day with two additional walks, but the man of the hour ended up being Cole Johnson. The 6’2 true freshman from the Athens area was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school, being drafted by the Orioles in the 18th round.
As a true freshman, finding any playing time on a team as talented as Georgia is overly impressive, but Johnson has made his presence known early and often this season. In his action this season, Johnson has been batting at a .370 clip and has been a solid left-handed bat in the lineup, but his glove was the difference maker on Sunday.
Entering the top of the ninth, Georgia held a narrow two-run lead, but the Vols threatened immediately with a lead-off homer and then advanced a runner 90 feet from tying it up. Then one of the greatest walk-on conclusions in the history of Georgia baseball occurred. With two outs, a booming Tennessee deep drive to left field appeared like the Vols were poised to take a one-run lead until Johnson leaped over the fence and robbed the two-run homerun, thus ending the game. Holy Moly, what an epic catch to the delight of the Red & Black faithful at Foley Field.
This play by Johnson may come as a surprise to those not too familiar with the program, but to anyone who has followed this true freshman at all, it simply felt like a play only he could make. The win boosted the eighth-ranked Dawgs to a 2-1 record in conference play and their first SEC series win for a team that is Omaha hopeful.
The Diamond Dawgs will take on the Citadel at home this afternoon at 3 p.m. and then travel to College Station, Texas this weekend for a series against Texas A&M. It may be early in this season, but it is a fair assumption to think that more of this talent will be on display throughout the season and into the summer as the Dawgs plan on making their first trip back to Omaha since 2008.