How do I even begin to summarize the insanity that was this past weekend for Georgia baseball? Truly, I think there’s still some Sour Power raining from the sky at Foley Field after Georgia completed the sweep vs. Mississippi State in super regionals and booked its ticket to the College World Series, its first trip to Omaha since 2008.
From Saturday’s Game 1 thriller to Sunday’s Game 2 nail-biter, those are the two best college baseball games I’ve ever witnessed, and probably two of the best games that I’ve covered in all of sports.
The environment and talent were on display to such a degree, it felt like we were already at the College World Series, and the Bulldogs haven’t even boarded the plane yet.
Will anyone be making the trip to Omaha? I’m so excited to join the DawgNation contingent that will head that way soon and hope to see y’all there.
For now, let’s recap an utterly wild weekend, starting off with some of our best photos:
Photo(s) of the Weekend
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Wes Johnson reacts while wearing his championship hat as he celebrates with his team after winning the NCAA Super Regional series, defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs 11-9 at Foley Field on Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)
Georgia Bulldogs catcher Daniel Jackson reacts after hitting a two-run home run to give the team an 11-9 lead in the 10th inning of Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional at Foley Field on Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)
Georgia Bulldogs infielder Tre Phelps receives sour candy after scoring a run during the first inning of Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional at Foley Field on Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)
Georgia Bulldogs pitcher Caden Aoki lifts the trophy as he celebrates with his team after winning the NCAA Super Regional series, defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs 11-9 at Foley Field on Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)
And we can’t forget the fans
We truly could do an entire newsletter on the Georgia faithful at Foley Field and Kudzu Hill, whose blood pressure was probably going haywire, but we’ll stick to highlighting it with some photos for now.
Georgia Bulldog fans celebrate at Kudzu Hill after a home run by Georgia Bulldogs catcher Daniel Jackson in the tenth inning of Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional at Foley Field on Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)
Georgia Bulldog fans react after pitcher Justin Byrd strikes out a Mississippi State batter in the tenth inning of Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional at Foley Field on Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)
Georgia Bulldogs players celebrate in the outfield with fans after winning the NCAA Super Regional series by beating the Mississippi State Bulldogs 11-9 at Foley Field on Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)
Game 1 was an instant classic
If you missed it, let’s recap Saturday’s Game 1 real quick:
A seven-run deficit before lunch?
No biggie for the No. 3 national seed Georgia Bulldogs.
In Game 1 of a best-of-three super regional, Georgia hit five home runs to take down No. 14 national seed Mississippi State 13-12 at Foley Field Saturday. Georgia is now just one win away from the College World Series.
The day started rough for the Georgia Bulldogs, who were down 7-0 in the middle of the fourth inning.
The Bulldogs got two clutch homers from Michael O’Shaughnessy, sliding in at third base with Tre Phelps suspended for Game 1. O’Shaughnessy finished with five RBIs. Center fielder Rylan Lujo added two home runs and catcher Daniel Jackson hit one homer, getting Georgia on the board in its five-run fourth inning to start the comeback.
“It was a gritty day,” O’Shaughnessy said. “I mean, I don’t think we’ve gotten punched first like that, that big, all year. And honestly, we came back in after, and we knew (Georgia starter Joey Volchko) was going to go out there and still compete, and everyone coming out of the pen was going to compete, and as hitters we were like, if we just scrap one run at a time, take it in at-bat at a time, and just fight every at-bat, make adjustments mid at-bat, pitch to pitch, that we knew we were going to stay in that game and have a chance all day.”
It’s only fitting the catcher’s two-run shot in the 10th inning sends the Bulldogs to Omaha.
With an 11-9 win vs. Mississippi State in Game 2 of the super regionals Sunday at Foley Field, Georgia survives two nail-biters and will head to the College World Series for the first time since 2008.
Georgia has the chance to win its first CWS since 1990. In 2008, the Bulldogs advanced to the finals before falling to Fresno State in Game 3.
The Bulldogs survived Sunday’s battle despite late-game chaos: Reliever Zach Brown yielded back-to-back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning, narrowing Georgia’s lead to 8-7, and reliever Matt Scott gave up a two-run shot to give Mississippi State its first lead of the day, 9-8, heading into the ninth.
Georgia also committed three errors.
Georgia’s offense scored at least one run in each of the first five innings Sunday and did what it does best, crushing four home runs and feeding the trees that line their home stadium, responding with the game on the line.
Down one run, first baseman Brennan Hudson’s RBI single scored left fielder Kenny Ishikawa to keep Georgia alive in the ninth, with reliever Justin Byrd getting three outs to send it to extras and holding off Mississippi State in the 10th, after Jackson’s shot. Byrd pitched a clutch scoreless ninth and tenth and receives the win.
When Georgia won the College World Series in 1990, who did the Bulldogs defeat in the finals?
(Answer is at bottom of newsletter)
An emotional postgame
After Georgia’s win Sunday, Johnson got emotional in the postgame press conference.
You can watch his list of thank-you’s, his thoughts on the game and Georgia punching its ticket to Omaha here, but here’s one of Johnson’s best quotes on how much resilience has meant to this team and program:
“Resiliency, we talk a lot about toughness. I tell our guys all the time, like, I think toughness gets a bad rap. People think it’s some kind of physical element, and it’s not. It’s just, you have to learn to be capable of great endurance and understand that our game is really long. They got to get you out. Teams are going to get emotional; those emotions are going to carry you out of what you normally do every day. And yeah, so, that’s what we talk a lot about. Not only do we talk about it, we practice it. We try to try to give our guys something hard to do every single day, whether it be physical or mental. And you just saw a bunch of resilient guys, and you saw the fruition of all that work come through.”
With the Bulldogs celebrating in the background, Johnson and Jackson shared an embrace.
“I just told Daniel, I mean, he’s the best player in the country,” Johnson said Sunday after Georgia’s 11-9 super regional thriller vs. Mississippi State, which sends the Bulldogs back to the College World Series for the first time since 2008. “He’ll be one of the best I’ve ever coached.”
And that’s quite a list, with Johnson getting choked up in his postgame press conference after mentioning Charlie Condon, who stuck around after Johnson took over in 2023. Condon hit a BBCOR-era record 37 home runs and won the Golden Spikes Award in 2024, becoming Georgia’s highest-ever draft pick at No. 3 and helping the Bulldogs to supers for the first time since 2008. Johnson gave credit to Condon for helping to build up the program to where it is today.
And the Bulldogs, back in super regionals for the second time in three years, have now catapulted to the biggest stage.
Jackson, a finalist for National Player of the Year and semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, crushed his 31st home run of the year to the left field trees in the 10th inning of Sunday’s win. The play put Georgia ahead, 11-9, after the bullpen had surrendered a four-run lead.
Jackson, who wrote “30-30” on a whiteboard entering this year, also stole his 26th base. If the Bulldogs go on a deep run in Omaha, it’s possible the junior catcher could become the second player in Division I history to reach the 30-30 milestone, joining Florida State’s J.D. Drew, who won the Golden Spikes Award in 1997.
And though it would require lots of power at Charles Schwab Field, a bigger park than Foley Field, Jackson isn’t all that far from Condon’s home run record.
After transferring from Wofford as a sophomore, Jackson came on phenomenally strong for Georgia this season. He leads an offense that has hit a program-record 174 home runs (and counting), overtaking the 2024 squad’s previous record of 151.
4-star Texas QB Colton Nussmeier commits to Georgia football
I know it’s a baseball-heavy newsletter today (how can it not be?), but we can’t forget about some major football news.
The search for the Georgia football quarterback commitment for the 2027 class has ended. The scholarship QB for the next signing class will be a familiar name to SEC football fans.
Colton Nussmeier, a 4-star at Denton Ryan High School in Texas, announced his verbal commitment to Georgia football across his social media. Nussmeier, the younger brother of former LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, now becomes the 13th member of the 2027 class in Athens.
He’s scheduled to take his official visit to UGA next weekend.
The Bulldogs beat out Arkansas and UCLA for the prostyle passer. Before today’s decision, the 4-star Texan had been the highest-rated undecided prospect at QB for the 2027 class.
He’s now the fourth-highest-rated prospect in Georgia’s 2027 class.
