The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dawgs’ red-hot streak continues, with conference battles up next
At the start of each week throughout the regular season, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will take a closer look at the Georgia baseball team. Here’s a breakdown of the Bulldogs going into the fourth week of the campaign:
Record: 16-1, 0-0 SEC. Streak: Won 8. Rankings: No. 23 (College Baseball Nation). Last Week (6-0): Tuesday, beat Georgia Southern 7-2; Wednesday, beat Stetson 11-5; Friday, beat Northern Colorado 11-1 (7 innings); Saturday, beat Northern Colorado 19-1 (7); Saturday, beat Northern Colorado 14-6; Sunday, beat Northern Colorado 11-1 (7).
This Week: Tuesday, vs. Iowa (7-8), 5 p.m.; Friday, at Kentucky (13-3, 0-0), 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, at Kentucky, 2 p.m.; Sunday, at Kentucky, 1 p.m.
Week in review: Georgia is off to its best start in modern-day history. Technically, the 1908 Bulldogs did better. That squad went 20-2 for the season, but two of the losses were to professional teams, so technically they were 20-0.
But 16-1 is the best start since Georgia went 15-2 to begin the 2019, 2009 and 1992 seasons. It’s worth noting the Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament all three of those seasons.
Georgia got there by going 6-0 while playing six games in six days this past week. Notably, the Bulldogs clubbed six grand slams by five different players. Second baseman Slate Alford accounted for two. Catcher Fernando Gonzalez is credited for the last one. The school record for a season is eight in 2019. With two more home runs Sunday, the Bulldogs have 48 home runs in 17 games, which leads Division I.
Georgia’s Charlie Condon has played every position but middle infield or catcher, and he leads the NCAA in six offensive categories — batting (.565), slugging (1.290), on-base percentage (.659), hits (35), home runs (12), and runs scored (29). On Monday, he was named SEC player of the week for the second time this season after hitting .556 with two doubles, four homers, 10 RBIs, seven walks and four hit-by-pitch. He also was named the Dick Howser player of the month for February.
Week ahead: While the Bulldogs have enjoyed getting fat and happy against overmatched nonconference competition, that gets thrown out the window this weekend when they head to Kentucky to open SEC play. The Wildcats’ (13-3) most notable games have been against Kansas, which they won 8-5, and Washington State, which beat them 6-4. This past weekend, Kentucky lost two of three to Kennesaw State in Lexington. It will play one more game against Murray State on Tuesday before Georgia arrives.