It is no secret what made Georgia so dangerous this season. The Bulldogs are arguably the best home run hitting team in the country, and it's their big bats that have led them to all of their success this season.
Georgia's bats lit Foley Field on fire last weekend during Super Regionals as they hit a whopping nine long balls during their two games against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs will try to use their hot bats to their advantage again at the College World Series, but unfortunately for them Charles Schwab Field in Omaha is notorious for not being friendly to hitters due to the wind pattern in the stadium.
Georgia's biggest strength may not work to their advantage at the College World Series
Charles Schwab Field normally has strong wind coming in straight from center field. That has terrorized hitters and has made hitting home runs next to impossible.
Just last year there were only 15 home runs hit during the 14 games played at the College World Series. That is significantly less than the 2.76 long balls Georgia has hit per game this season.
So far during the NCAA Tournament Georgia is averaging five home runs per game. Without those home runs they may not have advanced to the College World Series, but it's going to be next to impossible to hit that many home runs at the CWS.
Wes Johnson is aware of the challenge Charles Schwab Field creates for hitters at the College World Series
Head coach Wes Johnson was asked about Charles Schwab Field during his press conference earlier this week, and he is aware of the challenge the wind will present Georgia's offense.
"It's a massive ballpark. The wind plays a really, really big factor in there," Wes Johnson said via 247sports.com. "There's days it doesn't matter how much power you have. I've played in that ballpark where there's days — I've joked you could hit the ball twice and not hit it out of there. And then there's been days it's played very hitter-friendly. Most of the time, if it's playing neutral, it's going to play a lot like Hoover. It'll really go down the lines. It's really hard to get it out alley-to-alley to center field, but down the lines, you can get it out."
Georgia's offense is one of the most powerful in the country, so if they are able to hit a couple home runs each game at the CWS then it will be very difficult to beat them. The Bulldogs will have to be ready to manufacture some runs though because they won't be able to rely on their power to save them like they did against Mississippi State last weekend.
Georgia will also need better pitching in Omaha as well because their offense may not be able to reach double digits like they have been recently.
It will be interesting to see if Georgia makes any adjustments on offense to account for this wind or if they will keep playing for the long ball. They better hope they make the right choice though because a loss to Texas on Saturday will make it very difficult to advance to the National Championship series.
First pitch for Georgia's first game at the College World Series is scheduled for 8:00 pm EST on Saturday, June 13.
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