Meet the Bulldogs… A dynamic offensive team
Who’s the Pack playing?
Opponent: Georgia
Mascot: A Damn Good Dog | School Location: Zaxby’s, GA | Conference: SEC
2024 Record: 42-15 (17-13, 3rd East) | 2024 RPI Rank: 5
2023 Record: 29-27 (11-19, 6th East) | 2023 RPI Rank: 41
2022 Record: 36-23 (15-15, T-2nd East) | 2022 RPI Rank: 24
When? Where? How do I watch?
Location: Foley Field (Athens, GA)
Game Time(s): Sat, Jun 8 @ 12:00pm | Sun, Jun 9 @ 12:00pm | Mon, Jun 10 @ TBD
TV: Saturday (ESPNU), Sunday (ESPNU), Monday (TBD)
Live Stats: Saturday (NCAA), Sunday (NCAA), Monday (TBD)
Tell me about this team
If NC State is to head to it’s third College World Series appearance under Elliott Avent, it will have to do so by going through one of the most explosive offenses in the country, including the nation’s best hitter. If you’ve been following college baseball this year, then you are already familiar with Charlie Condon. If you haven’t been, then I’ll give you the abridged version.
Condon is a redshirt sophomore third baseman who is a former walk-on. The 6’6, 216 pounder sat out his first year in the Georgia program as he needed some time to grow and mature his game in order to contribute at the D1 level, much less in the SEC. Well, since then the Golden Spikes finalist and potential #1 overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft has hit .416/.528/.921 with 61 HR. This year he’s been nothing short of a monster, crushing to the tune of .445/.566/1.036 with 20 2B and 36 HR. Just to be clear, a 1.036 is a really good OPS (On-base Plus Slugging), much less just a Slugging Percentage. That is insane.
He’s not alone, though, in making this a formidable lineup. On any other team, Corey Collins would be the headliner with his .361/.583/.789, 19 HR season, yet he’s completely overshadowed by his teammate. Collins is definitely not undervalued by opponents in his impact on the game. All told there are seven regulars with OPS figures north of .900 and all but one of the 13 players with more than 31 PA on the year are OPS’ing over .850 (NC State only has three of 12 who are at that level).
Georgia as a whole is hitting .305/.436/.593 with a 14.3 BB% and 17.6 K (NC State is at .285/.399/.483, 13.7 BB%, 15.8 K%). With such a potent lineup, there’s little urgency to force the issue on the bases (22-of-24 SB; State is 43-of-53) and not much need to play small (8 sac bunts; State has 18).
The starting rotation has been a bit of consistent work-in-progress for the Bulldogs with Saturday starter Leighton Finley (15 starts) being the only consistent figure. The rest of the weekend rotation has been a rotating door while trying to find the right pieces to consistently get outs. Top pitcher Kolton Smith moved to the Friday night role late in the year, but only has a handful of starts under his belt.
On the surface the bullpen appears deep with five arms having tossed over 35.0 IP, but when you dig a bit deeper you’ll find it has some issues. Of those five, only one sports an ERA under 5.32 and two of them have all of four combined appearances since the start of May. Like a lot of relief corps NC State has seen of late, there’s some big time stuff out there capable of tallying lots of strikeouts, but it comes with a lot of miss-the-zone struggles, too.
First year coach Wes Johnson has Georgia on the cusp of their first CWS appearance since 2008 when they lost the title series to Cinderella 4-seed Fresno State. The 52-year-old Johnson has had an interesting career thus far, going from Central Arkansas to Dallas Baptist to Mississippi State to Arkansas to the Minnesota Twins all in the course of a decade, all as pitching coach. He left the Twins in the middle of their 2022 season to join Jay Johnson’s staff at LSU, winning the national title in his only season with the Tigers before taking the Georgia job for this season.
Should the Bulldogs make it past the Wolfpack to Omaha, they won’t be the favorites to take home the title, but they have an offense plenty capable of mashing their way to the title series. Given Johnson’s history of putting together great pitching staffs, if he can continue to put together offenses of this caliber – or even anything approaching it – the Georgia program under his guidance should be an annual Omaha contender.
(Probable) Pitching Matchups
Saturday: RHP Sam Highfill (SR) — RHP Kolten Smith (SO)
Sunday: LHP Dominic Fritton (SO) — RHP Leighton Finley (SO)
Monday: RHP Logan Whitaker (SR) — RHP Zach Harris (SO)
Key Players:
Offense
3B Charlie Condon (rSO) – .445/.566/1.036, 19.0 BB%, 13.4 K%, 3-4 SB. Golden Spike award finalist and potential #1 overall pick in this year’s draft. Not really much else to say other than he’s a tough out. Your best bet is to nibble around the edges of the plate and hope that you can get him chasing early in the count to keep him guessing on subsequent pitches. Dangerous hitter, solid glove at the hot corner.
1B Corey Collins (SR) – .361/.583/.789, 23.5 BB%, 13.0 K%, 0-0 SB. Lefty hitting 6’3, 233 pounder had a great showing as a freshman but didn’t quite take the next step as a sophomore or junior. He’s done so this year and is quickly moving up draft boards. Fast bat, big power (44 career HR).
2B Slate Alford (JR) – .302/.371/.537, 8.4 BB%, 21.3 K%, 1-1 SB. A big second baseman at 6’3, 236, he probably projects more as a corner infielder at the next level. A Mississippi State transfer where he was a one-year starter in 2023. The power has played up this year, but strikeouts can be an issue.
RF Dylan Goldstein (SR) – .285/.432/.595, 14.1 BB%, 16.5 K%, 0-0 SB. Grad transfer from Florida Atlantic who started his career in the JUCO ranks at Chipola CC. He cranked 31 HR in two years with the Owls and has 12 this year with the Bulldogs. Has a good approach at the plate and isn’t afraid to wear a pitch, having racked up 45 HBP over the last three years.
Pitching
RHP Kolten Smith (SO) – 9-2, 4.41 ERA, 65.1 IP, 6.8 BB%, 35.4 K%. Top arm on the team just recently moved to the starting rotation, although he’s no stranger to longer outings. In his three starts has a 3.00 ERA, but has allowed 4 HR in those games. Low-to-mid-90’s fastball who likes his breaking ball. Also features a changeup.
RHP Leighton Finley (SO) – 5-1, 1 SV, 4.41 ERA, 69.1 IP, 8.6 BB%, 23.5 K%. The 6’5, 235 pounder led Georgia in saves in 2023 before moving to the rotation this year. Pitched in the Cape Cod League last summer where he was dominant. Low-to-mid-90’s heater with a hard changeup and a nice slider.
RHP Zach Harris (SO) – 5-1, 6.69 ERA, 35.0 IP, 10.9 BB%, 25.5 K%. Transfer from Georgia Southern. Like Finley, he pitched in on the Cape last summer, but didn’t find the same level of success as his teammate. Mid-90’s fastball and a hard slider, but control can be a problem. Has issued 8 BB over his last four outings (17.0 IP).
RHP Brian Zeldin (SR) – 3-3, 6 SV, 5.68 ERA, 50.2 IP, 12.7 BB%, 21.5 K%. Leads the team in saves, but most of those came early in the year. Has worked into more of a long-man down the stretch going 3.0+ IP in nine of his last ten outings. Is prone to giving up the long ball, having allowed 8 dingers over his last 6 appearances. Low-90’s heat with a slider that can be really good.
RHP Christian Mracna (SR) – 4-2, 1 SV, 5.32 ERA, 45.2 IP, 11.5 BB%, 33.6 K%. Grad transfer from Georgia Mason who started his career at D2 Belmont Abbey before heading to JUCO ball for one year. Can work multiple innings, but has been used in more short spurts of late. Isn’t afraid to throw inside and has plunked 10 hitters on the year and 24 over his last three seasons.
Quick! Fun Facts!
While Georgia hasn’t been to the CWS since 2008, that trip marked the fourth appearance in eight seasons for the program. Three of those four appearances went through Super Regionals in Athens.
These two teams also faced off in the 2008 Athens Regional, with NC State entering the series having won the Raleigh Regional which included both South Carolina and James Madison.
The Bulldogs don’t have a single player on the roster from the state of North Carolina and the Wolfpack don’t have a single player from the state of Georgia. Both teams have a player from Minnesota, though. Go figure.
The Key To A Series Win For State
NC State will need to get to the Bulldogs bullpen early and often, while being patient at the plate. Georgia has more sluggers than the Wolfpack, so getting into a HR competition will be a recipe for a quick exit back to Raleigh. Work pitches, get to the bullpen, and allow the relievers to give State baserunners via freebies while working up high pitch counts to minimize multi-game outings by the best Bulldogs relief arms.
Prediction
A three-game, hard-fought, high-scoring series. For a general baseball fan, this will be a fun series to watch. As someone with a vested interest, this is going to spike the blood pressure.
Outcome: Given the homefield advantage and the general lack of road success for State this year, Georgia moves on to the CWS with a Monday win.