UGA Baseball Breaks Georgia Tech's Heart | Super Regional vs. NC State Next
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ATHENS – UGA baseball tallied three runs in the top of the 10th inning to secure an 8-6 win over Georgia Tech and clinch a berth to the NCAA Super Regionals in front of 3,745 fans at Foley Field on Sunday evening.
Georgia advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals for the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2008. The Bulldogs played in the College World Series that year, falling to Fresno State in three games in the championship series.
Dylan Goldstein (1-6, RBI) hit a single down the right field line to score Corey Collins in the third at-bat of the game. Slate Alford (0-4, RBI, BB) reached first base on a fielder's choice in the next at-bat, scoring Charlie Condon from third to put the Bulldogs up, 2-0, in the top of the first inning.
Georgia Tech's Drew Burress (1-4, 2 H, 3B, 2 BB) responded with a triple down the left field line, scoring on a Matthew Ellis (2-5, 2 RBI) single to trim Georgia's lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the first.
The Yellow Jackets took the lead in the second inning on a three-run home run by Vahn Lackey (1-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, BB) that scored Mike Becchetti and Payton Green. Cam Jones then scored on a John Giesler (1-5, RBI, BB) single to center later in the inning, extending the margin to 5-2.
Clayton Chadwick scored on a Condon (2-3, R, RBI, 3 BB) line-drive single up the middle to cut Georgia's deficit to two runs, 5-3, in the top of the fifth.
Tre Phelps (2-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, 2 HBP) led off the eighth inning with a towering home run to left field, his 10th of the season, to bring the Bulldogs back within one, 5-4. Kolby Branch (1-5, R, RBI, HR) then blasted his second home run in two days and 17th of the season to tie the game at five runs apiece in the top of the ninth.
In the 10th inning, Fernando Gonzalez (0-4, SAC) sent a sacrifice bunt down the third-base line, allowing Phelps to score from second following a Georgia Tech throwing error to first base. Later in the inning, Collins (2-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 BB, HBP) hit a double to left to score Paul Toetz and Gonzalez, giving the Bulldogs their largest lead of the game, 8-5.
In the bottom of the 10th, Georgia Tech's Trey Yunger scored on a Matthew Ellis (2-5, 2 RBI, SF) sacrifice fly to trim Georgia's lead to 8-6. The Yellow Jackets got no closer as Condon threw out Giesler to secure the win and a Super Regional berth for the Bulldogs.
Chandler Marsh (2-0) earned the win for the Bulldogs (0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB) while Leighton Finley earned his first save of the season (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K). Zach Harris (5-1) recorded the start and pitched six innings (8 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 6 K) before the bullpen took over for the final four innings. Riley Stanford (2-1) recorded the loss for the Yellow Jackets (0.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K).
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Key Quotes
Georgia Head Coach Wes Johnson
Opening statement…
"I think it's important that I tell the players all the time that you can't ever hit the panic button. It's a long game. It's the teams who can stay focused, it's the teams who can understand that they got to get us out 27 outs as well that keep teams in games like this. I'm sitting beside two superstars. I mean, Zach Harris being able to go six innings today and just staying out there, keeping it calm and settling it down, and keeping the game where it was was huge. And then, what Corey Collins, he's been doing it all year. I don't even know what to say about him. What do clutch seniors do? They have moments just like what you saw tonight."
#6 Corey Collins | C/OF | Sr.
On the emotions after making the final out…
"Pure joy. We saw fight, like Coach said, through the whole nine or 10. I had to ask how many we played. I didn't even know. But we fought the whole time, and that just sealed the deal. We fought all year to get here, and we brought it back home and we defended our turf, and it was great to be with these guys and just take it to the next level, and that's what we wanted to do."
#3 Zach Harris | RHP | So.
On the message during the mound visit in the second inning…
"Coach always goes back and harps on belief. It's always great having a coach that believes in you and always has your back no matter what happens, and a defense behind you that they prepare every single day. They go out there and make plays have total trust in them. Just pound the zone and let the defense do what they do. And obviously the hitters, the best offense in the country, they prepare themselves. So calm yourself down a little bit is kind of a message and we're still in this game no matter what. Our offense can always come back from anything. We have that belief in ourselves, and that's where it comes from."
Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall
On tonight's game...
"Great ball game. We got off to a tremendous start in the game thanks to Mason Patel. I thought Mason made some really big pitches against their lineup, and we played some good defense. Then, Padysak came in and settled the game, and their relief pitchers settled the game. We got some guys on, but we couldn't get that next hit to try and get a little distance. And then they hit a couple big home runs. The hit that Corey Collins got was great. With Mike [Becchetti] going, I noticed with the play he made on the ball, Peyton Green chopped, a tremendous play, first of all, to get to it, and then secondly to be able to lead the pitcher to the base. If he doesn't make that play, then we win the game. So, very proud of my group."
#21 Ben King | RHP | R-Jr.
On what this team means to him...
"I've kind of been thinking about this day for a long time, the end of my baseball career. I've been playing this game since I was six years old, and you kind of think a lot about how it's going to feel when it is over. I would tell you that I haven't shed a tear. I have no regrets about my career, about the choice that I made to go to Georgia Tech to play for Coach Hall, to play for Coach Ramsey, for Coach Taylor on the pitching staff side of things. The thing that I will miss the absolute most about this game is my teammates. The countless guys that I have played with over the last five years are some of my best friends in the world, [John] Geisler being one of those. The things that he and I have been through together being a part of this program coming in together as walk-ons, and then both missing entire seasons with injuries, to come back and be able to contribute the way we both have the last two seasons, to both being named captains. I'm just proud of the kind of person he is to be able to be his friend and his brother. For so many of the other guys that I have played with along the way, that's what I'll cherish. That's what I'll always remember about this program - the people."
#40 John Geisler | INF | Sr.
On the approach to Georgia's Zach Harris...
"He was filling up the zone pretty well with his fastball and whipping in a slider. He just has a good fastball, and he kept us off balance. For me, I don't feel like I had my best stuff all weekend. Definitely missed some fastballs that I could've hit from him. He caught out front on a slider, but he just pounded the zone well and went 100-plus pitches. That was big for them to save some of their guys because they were starting to run out of guys, too. They had to bring Leighton [Finley], too, who threw 80-something pitches in game one. So credit to him, for sure."
Up Next
Georgia will host NC State in the NCAA Super Regionals next weekend at Foley Field. The two teams will play a best-of-three series from Friday-Sunday, June 7-9, or Saturday-Monday, June 8-10. Game schedules for Super Regionals will be announced on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
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