When a team loses two offensive powerhouses, maintaining that power can be tricky. The departure of Charlie Condon and Corey Collins after last season left holes in the Georgia Bulldogs lineup. Fans wondered how the team could get one step further than last season: Omaha.
Enter Ryland Zaborowski.
The Arizona native made stops at Grand Canyon University, Yavapi College and the University of Miami (OH) before finding himself in Athens.
After multiple experiences in the transfer portal, Zaborowski knew how to find the right fit and found it in Wes Johnson and the Bulldogs.
“A lot of coaches will say a lot in the portal and they don’t end up living up to those,” the graduate student said. “Wes, Coach Coggin and Coach (Ammirati) have all lived up to what they said.”
Zaborowski’s impact has been felt almost immediately by the Bulldogs. As a fifth-year collegiate player, he brings a veteran presence to the team.
“In the dugout, he’s watching the game as far as what the pitchers are doing,” head coach Wes Johnson said. “He can articulate what he’s seeing very well.”
With about a month left in the regular season, the infielder/outfielder is having quite an offensive season. Posting a .385/.513/.853 slash line, Zaborowski has hammered 16 home runs, which leads the team.
His goal isn’t always to “Feed the Trees.” Zaborowski knows baseball is more than just launching the ball out of the park.
“At the plate, I’m not trying to hit homers,” he said. “I’m not trying to do too much.”
And even though he hasn’t hit a home run in nearly two weeks, he isn’t defining it as a slump. In fact, Zaborowski refused even to say the word.
“We got to move on from it. It’s in the past,” he said. “The more we think about it, the more it’s going to affect us in the future.”
To stay focused on the future rather than dwelling on the past, Zaborowski plays every day as if it’s the first game of the season.
He wears an “Opening Day Every Day” wristband often to remind him that the past is in the past and to stay in the same mindset every time he steps up to the plate.
“You have to go out and compete with confidence,” he said. “If you don’t go out and compete with confidence, you’re not going to have as much success.”
The constant confidence in Zaborowski has given him a different outlook on the game. Rather than putting himself down after recording an out, he looks at the bright side of each at-bat.
“When things don’t go right, you have to find the small things you did right,” he said. “If I hit a line drive to center, I’m like, ‘Alright, cool. Quality at bat. Gonna get him next time.’”
Zaborowski, and the Diamond Dawgs will look to break out of the slump this weekend against Oklahoma, followed by a matchup with Kennesaw State on Tuesday at Foley Field.
