Georgia looks in good shape for top 8 national seed. Why that matters so much to Bulldogs

Yahoo

26-05-2025

Wes Johnson came to Georgia baseball fresh off tutoring Paul Skenes, the pitcher who helped LSU to a national championship before starting in the MLB All-Star game as a rookie.
Before that, he was the pitching coach in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins.
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Yet his Bulldog teams have risen to prominence in Johnson's two seasons as coach for how they bash balls over the fences.
He built his team to thrive in the hitters park that is Foley Field. To feed the trees in the outfield as the merchandise says.
That's why No. 8 Georgia winning its series on Saturday May 17 against Texas A&M was big — to all but assure the Bulldogs won't have to be on the road in the NCAA Tournament.
Instead the 7-4 victory means the Bulldogs (42-14, 18-12 SEC) are in great shape to stay home.
'Yeah, I think we are,' Johnson said about being a top eight national seed. 'You look at our RPI (No. 1), you look at our nonconference schedule, you look at what we've done at home. We won two road series, we didn't lose a home series. Yeah, I think we are but the committee is doing their stuff.'
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Georgia is 29-4 at Foley where dimensions are oh-so-inviting particularly with the right field line just 314 feet and the left field playing shorter at times then its 350 feet down the line.
Henry Hunter homered in the sixth Saturday with a blast to right that stayed inside the foul pole.
The catcher stood at the plate with his bat in the air and watched it go over the fence for his ninth home run of the season.
Johnson studied the numbers at Foley when he got the job in June of 2023.
He said teams that won there were hitting almost three homers a game.
'I immediately said well, this ballpark is built for homers,' Johnson said earlier this season. 'It's almost six homers a game in an SEC weekend was getting averaged at times. So it's like, 'You've got to hit homers to win here.' You guys know, our right field is short, center field plays pretty true. Left field even though it's deep, we get the right wind and it plays short. Those are things I looked at. I said we've got to get guys to hit home runs.'
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Oh, he's got them. Even with generational talent Charlie Condon gone after last season.
Georgia leads the nation in home runs with 132, but it also entered Saturday having struck out the most in the SEC at 512.
Georgia blasted three homers in a 10-6 win Thursday and was mowed down by Justin Lamkin who threw a complete game shutout with 15 strikeouts Friday. Lefties can be Kryptonite for Georgia. Vanderbilt's JD Thompson struck out 14 against Georgia on April 17.
Myles Patton shut out Georgia until the fifth Saturday when Slate Alford smashed a two-run homer.
The Bulldogs entered the day hitting .256 against-left-handers, which is down from .265 when Johnson gave the players T-shirts that said 'I Love Hitting Left Handed Pitchers.'
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Johnson said Ryan Black has improved against lefties. Robbie Burnett should be back from a hamstring injury in time for the NCAA Regional. Zaborowski, who played for the first time since April 26 after being out with an elbow injury, had two hits Saturday and hit a towering fly ball in the fifth off Patton but it stayed in the ballpark.
'You just get the length back, man, it puts pressure on people,' Johnson said.
Seven Georgia players this year have double digit home runs compared to three each of the previous two seasons before Johnson took over. Georgia had just one player with double digit home runs in 2021.
This season five have at least 12: Robbie Burnett with 20, Alford with 17, Ryland Zaborowski with 16 each, Kolby Branch with 13, Daniel Jackson with 12.
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The Bulldogs have thrived at home this season.
In the SEC, the Bulldogs went 11-4 at home and 7-8 on the road.
That's left some analysts to state that playing at home is crucial for Georgia.
'We know they can swing it. A lot of home runs, a lot of power,' former MLB second baseman Todd Walker said on air on the SEC Network earlier this month. 'I think they've got to play home in Athens to really have a shot to get to Omaha. They play great at home.'
Former LSU outfielder Jared Mitchell said in late April on the SEC Network: 'When you watch them play, can they get it done anywhere outside of in Athens? I'm not sure. That's a great place to hit. I'm not sure that pitching that they have travels.'
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Hosting isn't an automatic ticket to Omaha.
Georgia was a No. 7 national seed last year and didn't make it to Omaha, losing in three games to N.C. State in the Super Regional.
Six of the eight teams that hosted Super Regionals last year advanced to Omaha and five of eight in 2023.
'I push these guys every day that playing at home for a super is the most important thing you can do,' said outfielder Nolan McCarthy who transferred from Kentucky which advanced to its first ever College World Series last year after beating Oregon State at home. 'We played Coach Johnson two years ago at LSU and faced Skenes on a Friday night. You know you're not going to win that Super on the road against Skenes.'
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The numbers in SEC games show what playing at home means to Georgia.
The Bulldogs averaged 7.7 runs at home and 6.8 on the road and had 9.3 hits at home and 8.5 on the road.
Georgia hit 2.3 homers a game at home and 2.5 on the road, but had three more multi-homer games at home. The Bulldogs hit .270 at home and .251 on the road.
'Playing at home in front of Foley is awesome,' catcher Henry Hunter said. 'That's where we want to play. We're going to do everything in our power to make sure that happens for as long as possible.'
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia baseball wants to cook at home in NCAAs on way to CWS in Omaha