Diamond Dogs sweep No. 13 Vandy in weekend series at Foley Field

The No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs completed their first sweep of No. 13 Vanderbilt since 2003 after posting an 11-7 victory Sunday in front of a crowd of 3,333 at Foley Field.

Fast Facts

● Top-ranked  MLB draft prospect Charlie Condon made it seven straight games with a home run when he blasted his NCAA-leading 33rd in the sixth inning. It ranks tied for second in SEC single season history with Jac Caglianone (UF) who did it 71 games last year. Condon has 33 home runs in 47 games.

● Today’s victory over the Commodores marked the first time the Bulldogs have swept Vanderbilt in a three-game series since 2003.

● Corey Collins tallied his 23rd hit by pitch of the season in his first plate appearance of the game, further adding to his lead as the record holder for Georgia’s program.

● Pitcher Zach Harris tied his career high strikeouts with five in his four-inning appearance this afternoon remaining undefeated on the mound with a 5-0 record. After starting and getting a win against KSU on April 30th, his line for the week spanned seven innings, no hits, no runs, three walks, and 10 strikeouts. Junior Chandler Marsh got the final four outs for his first save.

● Vanderbilt (32-16, 11-13 SEC) starter JD Thompson dropped to 3-1 after allowing five runs, five hits, and three walks to the Bulldogs in his two-inning stint.

Key Quotes

Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Wes Johnson

On the series sweep…

“It’s massive. As you know, every win in this league is hard. For these guys to win three in a row shows that they have a lot of heart and a lot of toughness. You’ve got to tip your hat to Vanderbilt. We had them down and they could have checked out, but they didn’t. They came back and they fought hard to make it tough on us. I’m fired up with the way our guys responded back.”

On looking ahead at the postseason…

“If you don’t ever think about it, if you don’t ever lay in your bed at night and see yourself doing things here, then how are you ever going to do them? You’ve got to talk about it. It shouldn’t be this unicorn. You first have to talk about it, then you have to think about it, then you’ve got to believe that you can do it, and that is where we’re at. We’ve got six tough ones left. South Carolina is really good at home and the Florida Gators are fighting for their life so we’ve just got to take one pitch at a time on Thursday.”

Charlie Condon, 3B

On the potential to host the regional tournament….

“We control our own destiny as far as the post-season goes. We’re focused on the next series but that’s a big part of what we’re playing for right now. Taking care of business when we have an SEC opponent in our own place is super important. We just played three really solid baseball games this weekend. We’re in control of what we want. We can still do anything. We can host. We can bring the playoffs back to us and that would be really fun.”

On the series sweep…

“It’s been really good to see this team compete on both sides of the ball as well as we did this weekend. It’s the most complete we’ve played as a group this season which is really exciting to see this time of year.”

Zach Harris, RHP

On turning the corner in his performance…

“Coach has been preaching all season on having confidence and conviction in my pitches and knowing that our team is feared in general. The G has some fear to it and other teams don’t go out there scared. That’s the biggest thing, having confidence that I’m a good pitcher at the end of the day. Having belief in myself and in my pitches to go out there and execute them.”

On Wes’ faith in this team…

“It lights a fire under you a little bit. Knowing you have someone back there to support you no matter what, no matter the situation, and remind you that you’re a great ball player, that everyone is here for a reason, and that every single person on this team has a great ability. It’s an asset to have a coach that is always there to back you up, if you have questions, go ask him and he’ll know. He’s a very knowledgeable guy and he’s taught us a bunch. Just having someone in your corner at all times, even when you’re struggling really helps. He believes in me more than I do sometimes.”

Up Next

Georgia (35-12, 13-11 SEC) will take on No. 14 South Carolina on the road for a three-game series beginning on Thursday, May 9th. First pitch will be at 8:02 p.m on ESPNU.

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