Mark Kingston cracks joke about challenge of pitching to Charlie Condon

Star Georgia baseball player Charlie Condon might as well leave his bat at home when the Bulldogs head to Columbia to face South Carolina this weekend.

That’s because South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston has absolutely no intention to pitch the ball to the future top MLB Draft choice, who is hitting north of .450 on the season with 33 home runs. When asked how he plans to pitch to Condon at his press conference previewing the Georgia series, he answered that the Gamecocks simply won’t.

“You throw the ball to the back stop and make sure he doesn’t steal second base. How about that?” joked Kingston to media with a very brief answer.

But seriously, that could be the best strategy given just how ludicrous Condon’s hitting statistics are this season. He’s officially hitting .459 on the year heading into the series and slugging 1.105%, with 83 total hits and the aforementioned 33 home runs, as well as 70 total runs scored — all figures that lead the Bulldog lineup by a significant amount. Plus, his average is the best in the country, and while playing in the toughest conference, too.

Perhaps Kingston is right, that you’re better off just giving Condon one free base rather than allowing him to knock the ball out of the park, which he’s currently done in seven straight games. It looks like Kingston won’t allow him to go for eight straight.

Condon chasing history

In Georgia’s matchup against Vanderbilt last Sunday afternoon, Condon crushed a home run for the seventh-straight game. It was the 33rd home run for Condon this season, tying the single-season record since NCAA Baseball implement the BBCOR (bat-ball coefficient restitution) Era in 2011. Florida’s Jac Caglianone set the record last season in the Men’s College World Series finals.

In other words, Condon is ahead of schedule. The 6-foot-6 first baseman leads the nation in homers with Caglianone nipping at his heels. While this is only Condon’s second season playing for the Bulldogs, he already owns the program’s career home run record.

Nonetheless, Condon has a long way to go before shattering the NCAA’s all-time record for a season, which Oklahoma State’s Pete Incaviglia set with 48 home runs through 75 games in 1985. However, he is within reach of the SEC record of 40 home runs in a season, which was set by LSU’s Brandon Larson in 1997.

Only four players have ever hit 40 or more home runs in a single season, and Condon can close in on that achievement depending on how long the Dawgs’ season lasts.

On3’s Grant Grubbs also contributed to this article

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