Georgia
‘Oh-Ma-Ha! Oh-Ma-Ha!’ Georgia baseball’s celebration 18 years in the making
Georgia baseball players were setting up to take a photo in front of the Foley Field scoreboard with an “OmaDawgs,” graphic on it when fans in the standing room seats and on Kudzu Hill in right field serenaded the team.
“Oh-Ma-Ha! Oh-Ma-Ha!”
It was a moment that a Bulldog team had not experienced for 18 years.
David Perno, the Georgia coach for that 2008 team, and his star player, Gordon Beckham, were in the house on a day the Bulldogs clinched an 11-9 victory over Mississippi State that sent them to Omaha.
The game on Sunday, June 7, took four hours and 14 minutes and wasn’t decided until the 10th inning with two runners on when Justin Byrd struck out Jacob Parker swinging on a 1-2 pitch.
“Kind of just willing it to happen,” catcher Daniel Jackson said. “The second it hit my glove, just knowing it was over, was an incredible feeling.”
Georgia, now 51-12, celebrated. They are used to it after soaking up SEC regular season, SEC tournament and NCAA regional titles this season.
A few Georgia players even jumped up to sit on the center field fence.
Coach Wes Johnson shared a long embrace and then a kiss with his wife, Angie, near the Georgia dugout.
The former Minnesota Twins pitching coach was emotional in the postgame press conference, too, when he said how much making it to the College World Series in his third season means.
“People don’t understand the sacrifices you make to do that,” he said. “The birthdays you miss, anniversaries. A lot.”
Johnson took over a Georgia program that went 0-for-5 in regionals in 2009, 2011, 2018, 2019 and 2022, until his first team featuring Charlie Condon got to a super regional in 2024.
After the win Sunday, Johnson’s voice was cracking when he mentioned Condon sticking with Georgia after he arrived.
“Could have left, didn’t, helped us build this thing,” Johnson, wearing a super regional champions cap, said.
N.C. State stopped them in three games in 2024 to end their season one game short of the CWS.
Georgia then was bounced in the regionals a year ago, again as a national seed.
This one came just over three years after Georgia hired Johnson.
“We think we found the leader to take us to the next level in baseball,” athletic director Josh Brooks said at Johnson’s introductory press conference.
Johnson was on the way then to Omaha where LSU won the College World Series.
“That’s something I want to do here as well,” he said then.
His team now is headed there for just the seventh time in program history.
Johson also went to the CWS with Arkansas in 2018 when the Razorbacks reached the finals.
Georgia will head to Omaha as the highest remaining national seed at No.3 with the momentum that comes with going 8-0 in the postseason, starting with the SEC Tournament.
It will play on the biggest stage in college baseball, but the Bulldogs weren’t ready to turn the page quite yet.
“We’ll soak it in for about 12 to 24 hours and then get right back to the grind,” said Jackson, whose 31st homer of the season, a two-run shot over the fence in left field in the 10th inning, broke a tie game.
An hour after the game ended, Byrd and first baseman Bryce Calloway were among players still in uniform on the field soaking up the super regional title with their families.
Branch, one of the four players that have been with Johnson for all three of his Georgia seasons. went from the postgame press conference to the field and was handed the Super Regional trophy that the Bulldogs earned by winning the series 2-0.
“I truly do go home thinking about Omaha and think about going to that place and taking Georgia back to this place,” Branch said, “and securing the legacy that Georgia needs to have in Omaha.”
Saturday was a massive day for Georgia as they earned one of their biggest commitments of the 2027 recruiting cycle. The Bulldogs however were also dealt some terrible news as well.
A new injury rumor is taking over social media and former Georgia legend Stetson Bennett was crazily disrespected as well. But let’s start with the good news first and give it the flowers it deserves before diving into what could end up being a season-altering injury for Georgia.
4-star safety Adryan Cole commits to Georgia
Heading into Friday the Bulldogs had zero defensive backs committed to their 2027 recruiting class. That however changed in a big way as four-star safety Adryan Cole announced his commitment to Georgia on Saturday over LSU, Florida and Ole Miss.
The Peach State safety is the No. 166 overall player in the country and the No. 15 player from the state of Georgia. Based on his ranking alone it’s clear that this commitment is a big deal, but the fact that Georgia finally has a defensive back commit is why his commitment mattered so much.
Georgia still has a lot of work to do to improve their recruiting class, but they now have the No. 12 class in the country and are trending in the right direction.
Transfer RB Dante Dowdell rumored to have suffered a season ending injury
Georgia already lost one transfer for the season when Auburn transfer linebacker Amaris Williams tore his ACL during spring ball. Unfortunately rumors are swirling that another transfer could be out for the season as well.
Kentucky transfer running back Dante Dowdell is rumored to have suffered a pretty serious injury caused by an ATV accident. Nothing specifically has come out about this injury yet, but rumors are saying he could be done for the season.
It’s important to note that right now nothing has been 100 percent confirmed. On3 insiders did hint at a major injury occurring though and some fans online have pieced together that it could be Dowdell. It’s impossible to say for sure that anything has happened, but Georgia fans will soon get confirmation about these rumors likely at SEC Media Days on Tuesday.
Stetson Bennett deemed “expendable” but clueless reporter
Stetson Bennett’s NFL career hit a major roadblock when the LA Rams drafted former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. This showed that the Rams don’t fully trust Bennett, but they did say he has a chance to compete against and beat out Simpson to be their backup quarterback this year.
So far reports have indicated that Bennett is leading that competition, but one reporter has no faith in Bennett. In fact, he went as far as to say that he is “expendable.”
Bennett does face an uphill battle if he is going to make it in LA. The Rams clearly think that Simpson is their guy or else they wouldn’t have used a first round pick on him. On top of that, Bennett’s contract expires after this season as well.
Throughout Bennett’s career though he has proven everyone wrong, and if he was given the chance he’d likely do the same in LA. So to say that he is expendable is absolutely insane and disrespectful to one of the better college quarterbacks of this decade.
All he needs is one chance, and hopefully the Rams will finally give him that this year.
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THOMASTON, Ga. – A historic World War II-era aircraft made an emergency landing on a Georgia highway south of Thomaston on Friday after experiencing mechanical problems during a cross-country flight.
Upson County emergency landing
What we know:
A vintage Vultee BT-13A Valiant aircraft landed on Highway 19 south near John B. Gordon Road just after 1 p.m. Friday, according to the Upson County Sheriff’s Office. The plane was traveling from Punta Gorda, Florida to a vintage airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin when mechanical problems forced it down approximately 5 1/2 miles south of Thomaston.
There were no injuries reported on the scene. Deputies quickly pushed the aircraft out of the roadway, and an Atlanta air recovery crew later used a crane to load it onto a trailer for transport to a Taylor County airport for repairs.
Vintage aircraft investigation
What we don’t know:
Officials have not yet confirmed the exact nature of the mechanical failure that forced the pilot to land on the busy highway. The sheriff’s office has also not released the identities or total number of occupants who were inside the plane during the emergency landing.
Historic wartime trainer
The backstory:
The Vultee BT-13A Valiant served as a vital bridge to the skies for thousands of American military pilots during World War II. Wartime flight schools relied heavily on the all-metal monoplane to teach cadets complex maneuvers, navigation and instrument flying.
Cadets transitioned to this heavier, more powerful plane after completing simple primary training in fabric-and-wood biplanes. Powered by a 450-horsepower Pratt & Whitney radial engine, its intense cockpit vibrations earned it the famous nickname, the “Vultee Vibrator.”
Valiant aviation data
By the numbers:
- 11,538: The total number of Valiant aircraft produced across all variants during World War II.
- 7,397: The exact number of specific BT-13A models built before production ended in 1944.
- 40: The estimated number of airworthy BT-13A trainers that still remain in flying condition.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Upson County Sheriff Dan Kilgore, who explained the details of the highway landing and recovery operation through official news releases, as well as historical aviation data regarding the Vultee BT-13A aircraft.
Ways to Save Energy on Summer Cooling
Cut summer cooling costs: set thermostat to 78°F, raise when away, use fans, close blinds, and maintain your AC.
Air conditioning is a necessity for many Georgians during the summer, but new data suggests thousands of households across the state are still living without it.
A new analysis by Hard Rock Bet, using U.S. Census Bureau data, estimates that 36,333 occupied households in Georgia do not have air conditioning.
While that may sound high, Georgia actually ranks among the states with the best access to air conditioning, placing No. 8 nationally for household AC coverage.
Here’s what else to know.
Order your summer essentials on Amazon
Which Georgia counties have the most homes without air conditioning?
According to the analysis, Fulton County has the largest estimated number of households without air conditioning, with 3,657 homes.
The counties with the highest estimated number of households without AC are:
- Fulton County: 3,657
- DeKalb County: 1,999
- Cobb County: 1,762
- Gwinnett County: 1,291
- Chatham County: 1,189
Which counties have the highest percentage of homes without AC?
Among Georgia counties with more than 100,000 occupied households, Hall County had the highest estimated share of homes without air conditioning.
The highest percentages were:
- Hall County: 1.3%
- Muscogee County: 1.1%
- Bibb County: 1.1%
- Chatham County: 1.0%
- Richmond County: 1.0%
How does Georgia compare nationally?
The report estimates that 99.09% of occupied households in Georgia have air conditioning, giving the state the eighth-highest household AC coverage in the country.
Only Florida, Delaware, Oklahoma, Alabama, Louisiana, Nebraska and Missouri ranked higher.
The findings are based on U.S. Census Bureau housing estimates comparing occupied households with homes that have and do not have air conditioning.
For more information, visit hardrock.bet.
Vanessa Johns is the Trending Topics Reporter for the Deep South Connect Team Georgia, covering food and entertainment. Email her at Vcountryman@gannett.com.
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