Over the weekend, Georgia baseball not only started its 2024 season, but a new era as well. Scott Stricklin was fired following last season’s 29-27 record, which included missing NCAA regionals in two of his final three years in Athens.
Wes Johnson, the pitching coach at LSU, took Stricklin’s place. The Bulldogs defeated UNC Asheville 11-2 at home on Friday to kick off Johnson’s tenure as head coach. Starting pitcher Charlie Goldstein earned the victory after pitching four innings of one-run ball, with infielder Slate Alford leading the way with three RBI.
Georgia outscored the other Bulldogs 38-7 to sweep the three-game series. Over the course of the series, Alford hit three home runs, and Dylan Goldstein hit two and finished with an OPS of 2.011 in eight at-bats.
The Georgia men’s team lost 88-82 in a frantic game against No. 24 Florida on Saturday. Bulldogs captain Noah Thomasson led the way with 26 points, but Georgia lost the second half 48-36 despite leading 46-40 at the break.
The squad led by Mike White is 4-8 in conference play and 14-11 overall. The Bulldogs, who rank eleventh in the SEC, will play LSU on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge.
On Sunday, the Georgia women faced No. 1 South Carolina in Columbia, which presented an even more difficult task. The undefeated Gamecocks used a balanced scoring attack to pull away for a 70-56 victory, their 26th of the season, despite the Georgia women’s 35-28 lead at the half.
The Bulldogs are now 2-10 in conference play and 11-5 overall after that loss. The Georgia women’s last-place team plays Ole Miss on Thursday.
