ATHENS — Georgia baseball has been here before, but not like this.
Not with a first-year — and first-time — head coach like Wes Johnson, and a 1-2 punch like projected No. 1 MLB overall pick Charlie Condon his Regional MVP Corey Collins.
Johnson has already set a record for wins by a first-year Georgia coach, while Condon leads the nation in batting average and home runs batting in the No. 2 hole behind national on-base percentage leader Collins.
The No. 7-national seed Bulldogs play No. 10-national seed North Carolina State at noon on Saturday (TV: ESPNU) in the best-of-three NCAA Tournament Super Regional in Athens with a trip to the eight-team College World Series on the line.
Johnson has worked his magic with a strong nucleus left behind by former coach Scott Stricklin and 28 newcomers — 18 transfers and 10 freshmen — that quickly bonded into a team-first concept.
It’s why Georgia baseball broadcast veteran Jeff Dantzler said he knew this team could make it to Omaha for the College World Series next week before the first pitch was thrown this season.
“I think that depth of the lineup, just the way it can wear down a pitching staff over nine innings trying to get those 27 outs,” said Dantzler, who has been calling Georgia baseball for 30 years.
“Georgia just has to continue being Georgia. One of the big strengths of this team has been the strength of the lineup one through nine.”
Dantzler recapped the Bulldogs’ run through the Athens Regional that culminated with a dramatic 8-6 extra-innings win over rival Georgia Tech and put it into historical perspective, expounding on where it ranked among the most amazing feats in the program’s history.
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“With Wes, he’s got the SEC experience, he’s been at Arkansas, Mississippi Sate and he was the pitching coach for the LSU national championship team last year, so this guy has been to Omaha,” Dantzler said.
“You throw in that big league experience he had with the Minnesota Twins where he was a part of division championship teams and an American League playoff series, so he knows the big games,” he said.
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“He also knows in this sport you can never get too high or too low, so he’s been even keel and every day is a fresh start at the ballpark, win or lose.”
For more of Dantzler’s commentary, check out the Monday night On The Beat Show, where Jeff takes 25 minutes to share his knowledge of Georgia baseball and football.
