Georgia's Charlie Condon sets records with 34th home run vs. South Carolina
Georgia do-it-all superstar Charlie Condon made history on Thursday night. In the second inning of the Bulldogs’ three-game series opener vs. South Carolina, the Marietta, Ga. native belted his 34th home run of the season, the NCAA record for home runs in a season in the BBCOR era. College Baseball began using BBCOR bats in 2011.
The blast traveled way over the left field fence and gave Georgia a 7-3 lead. Condon has now hit a home run in eight straight games and came into the evening .459 on the year and the RBI was his team-leading 70th of the season. He has one fewer home run than strikeouts this season.
Condon has been outstanding at the plate despite not being able to settle into one spot on the field. He has played outfield, third base, and first base for the Bulldogs. He certainly had the Gamecocks full attention due to the danger he presents at the dish.
“When you hit .459 with 33 homers, 1.100 slugging and an almost .600 on-base percentage, yeah, I don’t think there’s really any way to get him out — there’s just not. So you’ve got to try to minimize his damage,” South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston said of Condon earlier this week.
The dinger from Condon gives Georgia a school record 125 on the season, a record that was broken several games ago when the Bulldogs hit their 110th. The previous record was set in 2009 when UGA tallied 109 round trippers.
Condon has helped Georgia to what is currently the longest win streak in the SEC. The Bulldogs have won five straight dating back to a 6-4 win over No. 1 Texas A&M a little less than two weeks ago. They won their mid-week matchup with Kennesaw State after that then swept Vanderbilt by scoring 35 runs in three games last weekend. The Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 15 by D1 Baseball, No. 14 by Baseball America, No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and No. 11 by Rawlings Perfect Game. Georgia is currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament as a regional host.
