ATHENS — A red-hot Georgia baseball team is heading to South Carolina this week with “massive” goals in mind.

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and boasting a No. 5 RPI ranking, are closing in on hosting an NCAA tournament regional for what would be the first time since 2019.

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Recent history suggests if Georgia (35-12, 13-11 SEC) wins three of its next six games — with a three-game series at South Carolina this week, and a three-game home series with Florida next week — the Bulldogs would bring postseason baseball to Foley Field.

“It means a lot to host,” First-year Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson said on Tuesday. “It’s great for recruiting, it’s great for your fanbase and it’s great for your players because we do play better at home — it gives you your best chance to move on.

“It is massive to host, I’m not going to downplay that, but as far as where I’m at with that I’m locked in.”

The Bulldogs, winners of a league-high five straight after sweeping Vanderbilt, face a South Carolina team (22-7, 13-11) that’s ranked 14th in the nation.

The Gamecocks have won their past two SEC series, including taking two of three from No. 5 Kentucky in their most recent SEC home series.

South Carolina swept Georgia last season in Athens, but this has been a very different Bulldogs’ team.

Georgia star Charlie Condon, a projected No. 1 overall MLB pick and the national leader in home runs, batting average and slugging percentage, said the team has been aiming for these high goals throughout the season.

“We know we’ve been a contender since the start of the season, but it definitely shows what the Bulldogs are bringing to the postseason this year,” Condon said. “It’s a special group and we’re going to keep rolling.”

Georgia has not advanced beyond NCAA regional play since 2008, when the program was a national runner-up in the College World Series.

The 2020 Georgia baseball team was ranked No. 2 in the nation when the Covid pandemic brought the season to a premature end.

Johnson, who has been a part of CWS runs at Arkansas and LSU, is taking care not to let his players get ahead of themselves.

“In my mind we’re still a ways a way,” Johnson said, “meaning we’ve got to win more ballgames, this week is hard.”

Chandler Marsh, who has come on in relief to get wins over Clemson and Vanderbilt, understands what’s at stake.

“It’s fun to play at home, we’re just taking every game for what it is,” Marsh said.

“I know if you win a certain amount of games, you’re typically more likely to host, but we just kind of understand we have six more games and we’re going to take them one at a time.”

Condon, as calm and confident as ever, likes the position the Bulldogs have put themselves in.

“We’ve been saying we control our own destiny as far as the postseason goes,” Condon said. “We’re focused on the next series, but that (hosting a regional) is a big part of what we’re playing for right now.

“We’re in control of what we want, we can do anything, we can host and bring the playoffs to us.”

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