ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia head baseball coach Wes Johnson addressed online accusations of a Bulldogs pitcher believed to be cheating during a road game last weekend vs. top-ranked Texas A&M.
A 30-second video of Christian Mracna in the bullpen, posted by Barstool Texas A&M, showed Mracna appearing to work on his glove in a corner. Mracna dominated on the mound late in the game to pick up the save, striking out six over two innings of work in a game UGA won 5-4, meaning every out he recorded was via a strikeout.
That led Aggies head coach Jim Schlossnagle to suspect the pitcher was putting a foreign substance on the ball in violation of the rules.
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Johnson spoke to reporters, which included 11Alive's Reggie Chatman, at Foley Field on Thursday.
"Guys, I'm going to make a blanket statement, and, you know, I don't have time in my day to deal with online subjective distractions," Johnson said. "We teach our players to play by the rules. That's just where I'm at, man.
Johnson said he plans to use Mracna against ranked Vanderbilt in a big home series for the Dawgs in Athens. Outside of some social media rage by some college baseball fans, there really hasn't been a whole lot of reaction from those in power at UGA, the SEC or the NCAA.
According to NCAA rules, players cannot apply a "foreign substance or moisture to the ball or to the pitching hand or fingers, or do anything to deface the ball." Use of a foreign substance, typically something sticky that improves grip, can create higher spin rates that increase the ball's movement. A violation results in ejection.
Mracna has made 13 appearances, including 10 starts, and has 57 strikeouts in 36 innings.