ATHENS — What do you say we play three?
Georgia and N.C. State came to that agreement after the Bulldogs knotted up their NCAA Super Regional matchup at 1-1 with an 11-2 victory Sunday. The teams will reconvene for a third and deciding game at Foley Field on Monday at 7 p.m. A television network has not been announced.
The Bulldogs improve to 43-16 and 33-6 at Foley Field, which was at-capacity yet again with 3,893 in attendance. That does not count an overflow crowd of several hundred watching for free from “Kudzu Hill.”
Short of beating the Wolfpack 18-1, Georgia could not have asked for a better rebound following Saturday’s loss by that score. Starter Leighton Finley gave Georgia just what it needed with six shutout innings before giving way to the bullpen in the seventh. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs’ bats that apparently remained in a freezer in Game 1 were thawed out and heated up early as Georgia struck for two runs in the opening frame and five through three innings.
Georgia had just 4 hits and zero home runs in Game 1. They had 15 hits and four homers in Game 2.
“I thought we hit some balls really hard yesterday,” Georgia coach Wes Johnson said. “Because our guys care, because they want to win, because they feel like they’re never out of it, I thought we got a little big yesterday. We had a couple of guys trying to hit 10-run homers. It’s not possible. And so today the message was, ‘just get back to your approach.’ These guys stayed inside their approach.”
Johnson also did a little tinkering. The Bulldogs’ first-year coach by way of LSU moved second baseman Slate Alford from fourth to third in the batting order and inserted outfielder Paul Toetz and first baseman Logan Jordan in the lineup in place of Clayton Chadwick and Dylan Goldstein.
Alford’s home run in the opening inning staked the Bulldogs to a 2-0 lead and the junior was 2-for-4 while also scoring two runs. Tre Phelps, batting fifth, hit a three-run home run and recorded 4 RBI. Catcher Fernando Gonzalez went 3-for-5.
“I feel like it sparked us, for sure,” Alford, a junior transfer from Mississippi State, said of his first-inning homer over the tree in left-center field. “I was just blessed to be in that situation.”
Toetz, a .346 hitter in 133 at-bats, went 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Jordan was 0-for-3 and was lifted for a pinch-runner in the seventh but played an immaculate first base. That included a spectacular grab to start a 3-6-3 double play in the sixth inning.
“We’ve played matchups a lot this year,” Johnson said. “The matchup with their starter was screaming right-handed. We were able to do that, and put Slate in the 3-hole. I really loved the matchup with Slate today.”
Finley proved to be the ultimate matchup advantage for the Bulldogs on the mound. He gave Georgia’s pitching staff breathing room for a Game 3 with 102 pitches of shutout ball through six innings. He threw seven more pitches in the seventh and got two outs to log a career-long 6-2/3 innings of work and improve to 6-1 for the season. Brian Zeldin gave up just one run the rest the way.
N.C. State’s not ready to wave a white flag. In fact, the Wolfpack’s pitching is well set for Monday’s tilt. They’re expected to start fifth-year senior right-hander Logan Whitaker (3-1, 6.23), who has been his team’s hottest starter of late. Also, spectacular freshman closer Jacob Dudan (3-2, 4.17, 6 saves) has yet to be deployed. Odds are strong the Bulldogs will see him at some point Monday.
Georgia could turn to Zach Harris (0-0, 6.75 ERA) to start Monday’s tilt or possibly bring back Kolten Smith (9-3, 5.43), who could not get out of the second inning of Saturday’s start. Smith gave up 10 hits and 8 earned runs in one inning but did not walk anybody and had two strikeouts.
“This is why everybody watches sports,” N.C. State’s 28-year coach Elliott Avent said Sunday. “You may not watch the NBA, but you’re going to watch Game 7 of the finals, right? You’re going to watch Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. You may not watch football, but you’re probably going to a Super Bowl party, right? Everybody’s watching Game 3.”
The Wolfpack and Georgia have gone down this road before, though it’s been a while. They faced off in a deciding Super Regional game in 2008. The Bulldogs won that one 17-8, paced by a 9-0 first inning.
In fact, Georgia has been perfect in Super Regionals, as well as all games resulting in College World Series berths. The Bulldogs are 4-0 in supers and also won the Northeast Regional championship to advance to the 1990 CWS. Georgia won its one and only national championship in baseball that year.
The key, both coaches agreed, is not to let the gravity of the moment rule the day.
“It comes down to Game 3, which with two great teams like this, it should probably come down to,” Avent said.
Said Johnson: “You know, emotions can take you the wrong way a lot of times. If we can keep our emotions in check – and every day you go to play this game you understand that it’s just that game that day – then when these games come around, guys don’t get sped up. So, my message won’t change Monday. It’s the same it’s been for these guys: ‘Hey, it’s another game tomorrow.’”
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