Georgia Baseball returns to Super Regionals for first time in over a decade
By Baron Dionis
The Georgia Bulldogs have continued their impressive season with a 3-0 run in the Athens Regional. In this regional, Georgia took down Army, UNC Wilmington, and Georgia Tech. Let's take a look at how the Bulldogs were able to win each of these games and what is next to come.
Georgia wins close game against Army in game one
Georgia took on Army in game one of the Athens Regional. This matchup was a one seed against a four seed, which on paper looked like the Bulldogs would easily win, but that was not the case. Georgia won this game 8-7, which was back and forth all game.
Army got a quick 4-3 lead through three innings. Army got their four runs off of two run homers from Chris Barr and Coleson Titus. Georgia got their three runs from a solo home run from Charlie Condon and two run scoring singles from Slate Alford and Paul Toetz.
Back and forth scoring had it 7-5 Georgia heading to the eighth. Errors allowed Army to tie up the game at 7-7. Fernando Gonzalez hit a go ahead sacrifice flyout to give the Bulldogs the lead. Christian Mracna finished the game and Georgia got off to a good start.
Georgia blows out UNC Wilmington in game two
Georgia took on UNC Wilmington in the winners bracket for game two. UNC Wilmington was coming off a big win against Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs were able to win this game 11-2 to advance to the championship.
Corey Collins gave the Bulldogs a one run lead in the first on a solo home run. Trevor Marsh tied up the game with a solo home run of his own, but an inning later, Kolby Branch hit a go ahead grand slam to put Georgia up 5-1.
Walks, errors, and sacrifice flyouts would eventually get Georgia to an 11-2 lead and their pitching was able to keep Wilmington from scoring a lot of runs. This got Georgia to the championship of the Athens Regional.
Georgia takes down Georgia Tech in extra innings to clinch a spot in the Super Regionals
Georgia clinched a spot in the Super Regionals with a big victory against Georgia Tech. This game went to extra innings as Georgia Tech was playing to not be eliminated and take this championship to Monday. The Bulldogs won this game 8-6.
Georgia got off to an early 2-0 lead with run scoring singles from Dylan Goldstein and Slate Alford. Georgia Tech responded with five runs from two run scoring singles from Matthew Ellis and John Giesler. They also had a three run homer from Vahn Lackey and the score was 5-2.
Charlie Condon hit a run scoring single to cut the lead down to two. Then in the eighth, Tre Phelps hit a solo home run. Then in the ninth, Kolby Branch tied up the game with a solo home run of his own. This sent the game to extra innings.
In extras, Georgia scored three runs off of an error and a two run double from Corey Collins. Georgia Tech scored a run on a sacrifice flyout, but that was all and the game ended 8-6.
What is next for the Georgia Bulldogs?
Next Friday, Georgia will be paired up with the winner of the Raleigh Regional, NC State. They won their own regional against James Madison to clinch a spot in the Super Regional.
This is a best of three series and the winner will clinch a spot in Omaha. They have a very solid chance to win this as their offense continues to make program history with their program record of 145 home runs. This is the most in school history and if they can keep it up, NC State may not keep up.
Tune into the Georgia Bulldogs next Friday as this is the first time they have made it to the Super Regionals since 2008. This team is special and could make it to Omaha.