There were two huge reasons the Bulldogs won that game against a strong Texas team:
Any mistakes the Longhorns made (including two errors in just the first inning), Georgia “stepped on the throat,” to quote shortstop Kolby Branch.
Joey Volchko tossed a complete game and tallied a career-high 15 strikeouts.
But before we get too in the weeds talking baseball, I wanted to give the city of Omaha a shoutout for being such a phenomenal host. Every single person we met was so kind, from folks around town to event staff at Charles Schwab Field, and we had a great time exploring the city.
Here’s some evidence:
Dawgnation's Brandon Adams (right) interviews Scott Newman, originator of Georgia's Sour Power celebration, after the Bulldogs' 7-1 win vs. Texas in the College World Series on Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Omaha, Nebraska. (Sarah Spencer/AJC)
Brandon Adams (left) and Cody Chaffins eat ice cream at Dolci Old Market in Omaha, Nebraska, where they were in town to cover Georgia at the College World Series. (Sarah Spencer/AJC)
(Yours truly not pictured because I was behind the camera).
We may end up heading back to Omaha depending on how everything shakes out; I’ll keep y’all posted.
But now, let’s talk shop:
Volchko was ‘commanding pitches, just hitting spots’ against Texas
Ryan Wynn could tell Volchko was dealing.
“I was standing back there, like, oh my God, I would have hated to be in the box against him today,” the second baseman said after Georgia’s 7-1 win vs. Texas on Saturday. “And it was electric seeing all the work he’s put in. I’ve seen that kid work. Kid hasn’t had an off day in four or five months, like he’s been working … and it’s amazing to see it come out on the biggest stage.”
Volchko tossed a complete game for the Bulldogs, striking out a career-high 15 (his previous career-high was 11 vs. Santa Clara in 2024 while at Stanford). He gave up one unearned run on four hits, throwing 114 pitches, 84 for strikes.
He struck out the side in the first inning. Meanwhile, the Georgia lineup capitalized off two Texas errors with four runs, setting the tone early against tricky Texas lefty Dylan Volantis.
(I guess technically I could call it “Quote of the Weekend,” since coach Wes Johnson had this to say about Volchko on Saturday).
“Obviously the story (Saturday night) was Joey. Commanding pitches, just hitting spots. If we called it low and away, he hit it. If we called the slider strike to ball, he did it. One of the most impressive complete-game performances I’ve been a part of.”
Photo of the Day
Georgia pitcher Joey Volchko celebrates after throwing the last pitch of the College World Series game against Texas on Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Omaha, Nebraska. It marked Volchko's first career complete game. (Cody Chaffins/AJC)
When Georgia needed a spark, Rylan Lujo delivers on the big stage
It was supposed to be Georgia’s toughest challenge this season, but outfielder Rylan Lujo and the Bulldogs made it just another day at the office.
Volantis was arguably the best pitcher left in the tournament and entered this game with a 2.03 ERA and a 126-to-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio and had only given up two home runs all year.
Georgia came into the matchup leading the SEC in just about every major offensive category, including batting average, RBIs, runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging and, most importantly, home runs (174).
In the SEC power matchup, Rylan Lujo seized the opportunity early.
As Georgia fans across Charles Schwab Field chanted in unison, “Lu-Lu-Lu-LUJO,” the transfer from Dayton stepped into the box for his first at-bat.
With a runner on and one out, Volantis missed with a 1-0 off-speed pitch right in Lujo’s wheelhouse, and the sophomore outfielder lined a missile straight to the left-field foul pole for a two-run homer. Originally, it was ruled a triple, but an umpire’s review overturned the call in favor of Georgia.
“I did think it was a home run because of how far it bounced. But I’m not a guy with a ton of power, so I always hustle out of the box,” Lujo said postgame. “… I was trying to get to third because of how far it bounced.”
Three current Diamond Dawgs are in the SEC’s top 4 in batting average.
Who are they?
(Answer at the bottom of the newsletter).
3 keys for Georgia baseball’s Monday night matchup vs. Oklahoma
Coming off its opening-round 7-1 win over Texas, Georgia moved into the winner’s bracket at the College World Series, where it will now face Oklahoma 7 p.m. EDT Monday.
Oklahoma defeated Alabama 9-0 in its first Omaha game and will try and stay scorching hot with a win over Georgia.
The two schools did not play this season after squaring off four times a year ago — UGA winning two out of three in Athens, before Oklahoma won at the SEC tournament to even the season series.
Oklahoma (39-22, 14-16 SEC) faced elimination back in regionals before reeling off five straight wins against national seeds Georgia Tech (2), Kansas (15) and Alabama (7) to set up this matchup.
Of course we have to sprinkle in some football news to the newsletter:
The word around the recruitment of 4-star Lithonia High offensive tackle was that it was always going to be very hard to beat out Georgia.
It was. And it still is.
Kennedee Jackson is the nation’s No. 12 OT and the No. 112 overall prospect for 2027 on the 247Sports Composite. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him as the No. 9 OT and No. 98 overall.
Jackson’s whirlwind month continued this weekend. He’d recently set a June 10 commitment date, but then moved up his UGA visit by a week to see the Dawgs before his decision.
Florida had him in Gainesville for an official visit May 29. During that visit, they got him to commit to what has been a robust offensive line class for the Gators.
It was a big win. Scoring a major target for the Dawgs in advance of that scheduled UGA visit.
As it turns out, that wasn’t final. Georgia’s staff got Jackson to still take his official visit to UGA on June 5. That visit happened. Inertia took over. Jackson always thought of UGA as a dream school growing up.
The Dawgs closed the deal here. They were able to reel the 6-foot-6, 300-pound OT back to the home-state school. The Lithonia Bulldog will now be a Georgia Bulldog, as he officially flipped Saturday.
With this decision, the Dawgs now have 14 commitments for this cycle. He’s now the third-highest-rated commitment of the class.
“At first, I wasn’t going to go on a visit, but they convinced me and I went on a visit. They answered all the missing pieces and showed much love and expressed that I was a priority there,” Jackson told DawgNation on Saturday afternoon.
Georgia women’s track and field repeats as national champions at outdoor championships
In 2021 and ’22, the Georgia football program repeated as national champion.
On Saturday evening in Eugene, Oregon, the Georgia women’s track and field program did the same, winning its second straight NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships title.
The Bulldogs repeated thanks to a dominant showing in the sprints. Adaejah Hodge took first in the 200 meters and second in the 100 meters. Dejanea Oakley won the 400-meter race. Oakley set the collegiate record in the 400, while Hodge did the same in the 200. Hodge set the 100 meters record in the semifinals Thursday but was beaten by Shenese Walker of Florida State in the finals.
Michelle Smith finished in fourth in the 400-meter hurdles, while Nina Ndubuisi finished in sixth in the shot put to conclude the individual point scorers for Georgia.
Georgia took home second in the 4x400-meter relay and third in the 4x100-meter relay.
This is the fourth outdoor national championship for coach Caryl Smith-Gilbert, as she previously won two at USC in 2018 and 2021 before being hired by Georgia in 2022.
Georgia’s women’s track team also won the indoor track and field championship this year.
The men’s track and field team came in second place Friday, finishing behind Arkansas. It marked the best finish for the men’s team since it won the national championship in 2018.
