4-star OL Player Analysis Experience From Official Georgia Team Departure Due To…
Georgia’s pursuit of another Great Wall of Georgia has some great candidates.
One that’s been quietly lingering in the background: Parasmus Catholic (N.J.) Malachi Goodman.
Georgia baseball responds in big way with Game 2 win over NC State
Not much went right for Georgia in its super regional opener against NC State on Saturday, which made Sunday a make-or-break situation for the Bulldogs. Despite the pressure of the moment, The Bulldogs rose to the occasion to get the upper hand on the Wolfpack and keep their season alive.
Early home runs by second baseman Slate Alford and designated hitter Tre Phelps and a strong outing by starter Leighton Finley put the Bulldogs on the path to an 11-2 victory. The win sets the stage for a series-deciding Game 3 between Georgia and NC State on Monday.
NC State (37-21) jumped on Georgia (43-16) early in Saturday’s contest, and the Bulldogs completely flipped that script on Sunday.
Georgia third baseman Charlie Condon delivered the game’s first hit with a first-inning single to right field, and Alford promptly brought him home with a two-run shot to left field. Phelps followed Alford’s lead two innings later with a towering three-run home run over the batter’s eye in center field.
Phelps’ three-run shot — which also scored Alford and left fielder Paul Toetz — put the pressure on NC State starter Dominic Fritton, who didn’t last much longer. Fritton exited at the top of the fourth inning after allowing two more hits, after which the Bulldogs blew the game wide open.
Kolby Branch jumped on NC State reliever Ryan Marohn by delivering an RBI double that just missed clearing the left-field wall. Right fielder Corey Collins brought home catcher Fernando Gonzalez with an RBI groundout before Condon and Alford were both walked to load the bases.
Phelps was then hit by a pitch, which brought Branch home to make it 8-0 Georgia. Toetz extended the Bulldogs’ lead in the top of the sixth with a home run of his own. With Toetz’s solo shot in the books, Georgia improved to 35-7 when hitting more than two home runs in a game this season.
Catcher Fernando Gonzalez tacked on the Bulldogs’ 10th run with an RBI single to center field. NC State pushed its first and only run across in the bottom of the seventh on a fielder’s choice, but Collins answered it with a solo home run to right field in the eighth. NC State catcher Jacob Cozart delivered a solo home run of his own in the bottom of the eighth.
Collins’ blast just over the right-field wall was his 20th of the season, making him and Charlie Condon the first Georgia teammates to have at least 20 home runs in the same season.
Georgia ended the victory with 15 hits. Phelps ended the day 1-of-4 for 4 RBIs, Alford was 2-of-4 with 2 RBIs, Collins was 2-of-5 with 2 RBIs, and Gonzalez was 3-of-5 with 1 RBI.
The offense came to play on Sunday, but so did Finley. Finley struggled in his regional start against Army but tamed an NC State lineup that put up 20 hits and 18 runs on Saturday. Finley threw a season-high 6.2 innings with eight hits allowed but just one earned run to go with five strikeouts. Sunday’s start marked the first time that Finley threw at least six shutout innings since doing so against Vanderbilt on May 3.
Game time for Monday’s matchup has not been announced. The two possible time slots are 12 p.m. or 7 p.m. ET.
How much ground did FSU gain in Ladarian Clardy’s recruitment? ‘Noles make a move for the 4-star DB
Ladarian Clardy, a four-star safety out of Pensacola Escambia High, wrapped up his official visit to Florida State on Sunday morning. The country’s No. 178 overall prospect was in Tallahassee to check out what FSU had to offer after picking up a scholarship offer from the Seminoles a month ago.
Clardy is no stranger to the FSU campus, having made it to Tallahassee about a half-dozen times over the past couple of seasons. But with his recruitment picking up and an offer in tow, Clardy – ranked as the No. 15 safety nationally – shuffled around his official visit plans to make sure he got an in-depth look at FSU.
Following the visit, Clardy told Noles247 and other outlets that FSU vaulted into his Top 3 due to how well the official visit went, joining Mississippi State and Washington.
“I already felt like I was one o the top priorities on their board,” Clardy said. “Just being able to talk to Coach Norvell again, Coach Surtain again, talking to Coach Moss, all those guys and them just letting me know I was a top priority on their board…that’s what I was looking for.
“Coming into my ninth grade year, I don’t know if you guys know, I was big on FSU. Getting to talk to [Norvell] again, getting that feeling again, they’re most definitely Top 3 on my board.”
Pensacola native Ja’Bril Rawls hosted Clardy. The two are friends from back home. He also spent time with another Pensacola product, veteran OT Darius Washington.
He’d previously officially visited Washington and UCF, and has OVs to Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Miami over the following three weekends.
Clardy’s recruitment, in general, picked up markedly over the spring with the Big Three offering while also adding Georgia and Michigan offers. Ole Miss was Clardy’s perceived leader after the run of offers he received over the spring, with FSU and Miami standing out as schools that quickly secured OV dates.