You can't teach an old dog new tricks, which is why Georgia seems to have no problem coming from behind.
For the third time in the tournament, Georgia rallied to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, scoring four in the bottom of the eighth to beat Fresno State 7-6 and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three championship round at the College World Series. Georgia can wrap up its first national title since 1990 with a win tonight, while Fresno State needs a win to even the series and continue its Cinderella story for one more night.
The battle of the Bulldogs looked like a mismatch early on, as Fresno State's starting pitching was used up from battling back to beat North Carolina over the weekend. Georgia took advantage early on when Rich Poythress singled home Ryan Peisel in the first for an early 1-0 Georgia lead.
Fresno State's offense answered in the third when Jordan Ribera hit a shot over the left field fence to tie the game, but Georgia reclaimed the lead in the fourth when Joey Lewis' single brought home Matt Cerione.
That lead would be short-lived, however. While Fresno State's pitcher-by-committee effort was keeping Georgia's bats in check, the Fresno State bats came alive when Steve Detweiler launched a bomb to left center. The two-run blast put Fresno State on top 3-2 in the fifth, and it would stay that way until the seventh when Cerione scored Poythress on an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at 3-3.
Fresno State got a huge lift in the top of the eighth when Steve Susdorf hit an RBI double, scoring Wetzel. Susdorf got caught in a lineout double play, but Tommy Mendonca followed with a two-run shot to left center to give the underdog Bulldogs a 6-3 lead.
Georgia got a leadoff single from Matt Olson to start the bottom of the eighth, and Fresno State closer Brandon Burke came on to shut the door on any potential Georgia comeback.
There was one problem -- Georgia had already kicked the door in.
Gordon Beckham took Burke's second pitch over the wall in left field, and that started Georgia's four-run rally. Poythress walked and scored on Cerione's double to left. Cerione advanced to third when the throw home hit Poythress in the back, and Lewis followed with an RBI single, scoring Cerione with what proved to be the winning run.
Not leaving anything to chance, Georgia brought on the nation's top reliever, Joshua Fields, to close things out. He did so with little problem, inducing an infield popup from Wetzel for the final out to give Georgia the victory.
Skies are cloudy with rain Tuesday morning, but the forecast is for the rain to move out by game time and a slight chance of a late-evening shower is possible. It's a good bet we'll see the second round of the Battle of the Bulldogs tonight at Rosenblatt Stadium.
Tournament Results
(NOTE: All times listed are Central)
Saturday, June 14 -- Stanford 16, Florida State 5; Georgia 7, Miami 4
Sunday, June 15 -- Fresno State 17, Rice 5; North Carolina 8, LSU 4
Monday, June 16 -- Miami 7, Florida State 5 (Florida State eliminated); Georgia 4, Stanford 3
Tuesday, June 17 -- LSU 6, Rice 5 (Rice eliminated); Fresno State 5, North Carolina 3
Wednesday, June 18 -- Stanford 8, Miami 3 (Miami eliminated)
Friday, June 20 -- North Carolina 7, LSU 3 (LSU eliminated)
Saturday, June 21 -- Georgia 10, Stanford 8 (Stanford eliminated); North Carolina 4, Fresno State 3
Sunday, June 22 -- Fresno State 6, North Carolina 1 (North Carolina eliminated)
Championship Series
Monday, June 23 -- Georgia 7, Fresno State 6
Tuesday, June 24
Game 2: Georgia (45-23-1) vs. Fresno State (45-31), 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 25
Game 3: Georgia vs. Fresno State (if necessary), 6 p.m.
You can still get great College World Series tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.
Comments