The Athens Regional is officially set.
On Monday, Georgia learned that Binghamton (29-24) will be its opponent this Friday. Oklahoma State (28-23) and Duke (37-19) will join the Bulldogs in Athens for the double-elimination event, which will begin the journey to the College World Series.
As expected, the Bulldogs (42-15) earned a top 8 national seed, coming in at No. 7. That means Georgia will have hosting rights throughout the Super Regionals as long as it continues to win.
The first pitch on Friday between Georgia and Binghamton is set for noon.
“I mean, that’s what I told our guys. Let’s not get caught up in anything other than, hey, we got a game here Friday night. We’ve been fortunate enough to have a really good season, getting a top eight, and that’s all you can ask for,” head coach Wes Johnson said after the field was announced. “But again, it’s like I told our guys, congratulations. If you win, you’re gonna play at home, and that’s all you can ask for. But your focus better be on beating them on Friday night right here.”
Georgia is 28-4 in games played at Foley Field this year.
“I think it’s no secret that we love playing here. Our guys like it here, they’re comfortable here. They’re able to get in their routine,” Johnson said. “(A national seed) is what you work for all year, to get this kind of seat. Now you just gotta go out and play. Just getting a seat doesn’t guarantee you anything. You still gotta go play baseball. So yeah, I feel good that our guys are going to be comfortable at home.
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The Bulldogs are paired with the Oxford Regional, which consists of host Ole Miss, Murray State, Western Carolina, and Georgia Tech.
But before Georgia can worry about that, the Bulldogs must focus on the Athens Regional.
“Duke’s always been able to pitch. They’re gonna be able to pitch a little bit. They’ve got some guys in the middle of the order who are going to be able to swing the bat,” Johnson said. “You look at Oklahoma State, it’s a pitching-rich tradition that they have there, they’ve got two bats in the middle of the order that can really hit. They have put up big, big power numbers. Binghamton is another one that they’re gonna hit. They’re more offensively focused, and they probably got 70-ish homers. And so, yeah, I mean, I think we got a good, challenging regional. We’d better be ready to play Friday.”
Georgia will look to take it a step forward after advancing to Game 3 of the 2024 Athens Super Regional, before falling to North Carolina State.
The Bulldogs are looking for their first trip to Omaha since 2008, when they finished as the national runner-up.
