Season Review

The 2021 Georgia Bulldogs found themselves “on the bubble” to make the NCAA Tournament according to the experts that predict the field of 64. Then on Selection Monday, there was no joy in Athens as the Bulldogs saw their season end after not receiving a bid.

Georgia posted a 31-25 mark that included going 1-2 at the SEC Tourament. The Bulldogs finished 8-13 against the nation’s top 25 including a road series win over then top-ranked Vanderbilt. Georgia closed the season with a brutal stretch with road series against No. 1 Arkansas and No. 7 Florida and finished at home against No. 11 Ole Miss. A banged-up squad managed to go 3-6 in that span, and ultimately that proved to be not good enough. Georgia ended league play with a 13-7 record. “When you’re on the bubble, every team has an argument for and against,” said Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin. “The goal is not to be on the bubble. When you leave it in the hands of the committee, anything can happen, and that’s what we saw.”

Georgia displayed tremendous grit during the 2021 campaign after injuries and illnesses decimated the pitching staff. Ultimately, the Bulldogs leaned on 10 freshmen including Liam Sullivan (1-2, 3.99), Luke Wagner (3-3, 4.58) and Freshman All-SEC Jaden Woods (4-1, 4.58, 1 SV). Georgia’s freshmen pitchers combined to go 14-10 with five saves in 29 starts with a 4.58 ERA. In 222 innings, they allowed 113 earned runs with 134 walks and 229 strikeouts.

Out of the projected starters, sophomore Jonathan Cannon was the only one who finished the year in the rotation. Ryan Webb, a preseason AllAmerican had his first start delayed until Feb. 27 due to an illness and then was lost for the season in early May due to an elbow injury). Cannon, who was a returning Freshman All-American, had his first start delayed until March 9 due to an illness. Opening Day starter C.J. Smith was limited to three appearances and then missed the rest of the season with an arm injury. Garrett Brown, Will Childers, Logan Moody and Patrick Holloman all missed the entire season. Then down the stretch, Georgia’s offense lost two of its top veteran run producers in senior RF Cole Tate (.344-10-33), who was on pace for the team’s Triple Crown, and graduate OF/INF Riley King (.261-6-34). Tate was hit by a Hunter Barco pitch in the ankle against Florida on May 15th and played just one inning the rest of the season.

Tate tried to go against #11 Ole Miss on May 20 and went 0-for-1 to end a 28-game on base streak and 11-game hitting streak, both career highs. King was bothered by a sore knee that sidelined him for four of the final nine games. He did start on Senior Day and went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI in a 13-2 win over No. 11 Ole Miss. One of the team’s top hitters, Josh McAllister (.333-9-29), missed a total of 15 games due to a hamstring issue.

The top freshman hitter was DH/C Corey Collins (.283-8-37) who joined Woods on the Freshman All-SEC Team. He finished the season on an eightgame hitting streak and batted .414 (12-for-29) with three doubles, a triple, a home run and five RBI in that stretch.

Memorable Performances In 2021

u Redshirt sophomore LHP Ben Harris (4-2 2.33 ERA, 3 SV) and freshman Jaden Woods (4-1, 4.58 ERA, 1 SV) were pivotal members of the bull-

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Ben Harris (4-2, 2.33 ERA, 3 SV, 66 K, 38.2 IP) signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after being drafted in the eighth round.

pen. Harris inherited 15 runners and none scored! Woods let just one of nine score.

In SEC action, Harris went 3-2 with a 2.89 ERA and three saves in 12 relief outings, limiting opponents to a .106 batting average while Woods was 3-1 with one save and a 4.85 ERA in SEC play. u Twice in 2021 Georgia has hit Back-to-Backto-Back Home Runs and before then, the last time tit happened once was 1987! In 2021, Georgia did it against Lipscomb on March 12 (Connor Tate, Riley King and Josh McAllister) as part of a 10-0 victory. Then on Apr. 8 at #1 Vanderbilt, the Bulldogs did it again, this time it was Tate, King and Garrett Blaylock as part of a 14-2 rout. u On March 15, Corey Collins earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors. He batted .444 (8-for18) with two doubles, two home runs, five runs scored and nine RBI in a 4-0 week. He posted an .889 SLG% and .500 OB%. u Redshirt junior OF Connor Tate led the Bulldog attack against the top-ranked Commodores, batting .583 (7-for-12) with two doubles, three home runs and six RBI. He was named a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball, and he was the SEC Player of the Week. u Sophomore RHP Jonathan Cannon was named the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week and the SEC Pitcher of the Week after he tossed a careerhigh seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks in clinching an SEC road series over No. 1 Vanderbilt in April. u Against #1 Vanderbilt’s vaunted pitching staff that led the nation with a 2.31 ERA, Georgia slugged .585 with 9 HRs in winning that road series. Georgia’s staff posted a 2.77 ERA and registered 42 Ks against the league’s best offense that ranked second nationally in slugging percentage at .544. u Senior Cole Tate tied a school record with a pair of triples in a game, helping Georgia to a 7-5 road win in 10 innings over Missouri on Apr. 24. Tate provided a go-ahead two-run triple in the 10th against the Tigers. He became the first Bulldog with two triples in a game since 2010 when Zach Cone did it versus Ga. Tech. Tate became just the seventh Bulldog to accomplish that feat. u Freshmen LHPs Charlie Goldstein (@ Kennesaw) and Liam Sullivan (@ #1 Arkansas) pitched an “Immaculate Inning,” that is they needed just nine pitches total to retire the first three hitters they faced.

Bulldogs In The MLB Draft

u The 2021 Major League Baseball was 20 rounds, and the Bulldogs had a pair of selections. Senior pitcher Ryan Webb, who was a preseason All-American, saw his year end early due to elbow surgery. However the Cleveland Indians liked his potential and drafted him in the fourth round. In the eighth round, the Los Angeles Dodgers selected and signed pitcher Ben Harris. The Bulldogs extended their string to 49 straight seasons with at least one player signing a contract.

Record 27 Bulldogs Earn Academic Honors

u A total of 18 Bulldogs earned a spot on the SEC Academic Spring Honor Roll and nine made the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll to give Georgia a school record 27 baseball honorees. The veteran Bulldogs were: Ben Anderson,

Jonathan Cannon, Ryland Goede, Charlie Goldstein, Kameron Guidry, Ben Harris, Randon Jernigan, Riley King, Joshua McAllister, Mason Meadows, Bryce Melear, Logan Moody, Darryn Pasqua, Michael Polk,

C.J. Smith, Josh Stinson, Cole Tate and Connor Tate. The first-year Bulldogs to make the honor roll were: Dwight Allen II, Hank Bearden, Collin Caldwell, Max DeJong, Fernando Gonzalez, Parks Harber, Will Pearson, Garrett Spikes and Liam Sullivan.

Bulldog Award Recipients

u The Jim Whatley Captain Awards went to seniors Mason Meadows (C), Riley King (INF/OF), C.J. Smith (LHP) and Ryan Webb (LHP). u The Scholar-Athlete Award for the player with the highest GPA and best year was earned by King who was one of nine Bulldogs to earn their degree. u The Gordon Beckham MVP Award went to outfielder Connor Tate and pitcher Ben Harris as they led the offense and pitching staff. u The Bert Kizer Award for the top first-year player on and off the field went to Jaden Woods. u The Jim Umbricht Award for the most competitive Bulldog went to Joshua McAllister.