"To be determined."
These are the three sweetest words the UGA baseball team could possibly hear on Sunday, after outlasting Troy, 11-7, in the winner's-bracket portion of the Athens regional.
With the comeback victory, the Dawgs have advanced to Monday's championship round, taking on either Troy or Duke.
(The Trojans and Blue Devils will meet for an elimination bout on Sunday night.)
It's a double-elimination regional, so UGA (2-0 for the weekend) would have to lose twice on Monday. Presuming victory, though, as the No. 8 national seed in the NCAA baseball tournament, the Bulldogs would automatically host one of the eight super-regionals for next week.
There was nothing easy about UGA's Sunday triumph at Foley Field. Dawgs starter Kevin Smith lasted only 3 2/3 innings, surrendering five runs and seven hits to the Trojans. Reliever Zack Kristofak fared marginally better, allowing two runs and three hits over the next two innings.
Georgia's saving grace on this day? The bats finally came alive in the final four frames, scoring eight runs during that period.
In the 6th, Keegan McGovern and Michael Curry smacked back-to-back homers.
In the 7th, the Dawgs pulled off a three-run rally, all with two outs. The roll started innocently, with Tucker Bradley reaching base on an infield error. From there, three straight hits–including an RBI double from Curry–brought home three runners and improved UGA's lead to 8-6.
The Dawgs churned out two more runs in the 8th, benefiting from a walk, two hits and another unforced error from the Troy defense (muffed putout at first base). The Dawgs' lead had suddenly ballooned to 10-7.
The day's scoring capped with LJ Talley's RBI single in the ninth inning; but the real drama was reserved for the bottom of the inning. With one out, UGA centerfielder C.J. Smith robbed Troy of a home run ... with his leaping grab at the wall.
It was the signature moment of a relatively incident-free Sunday, thus setting the stage for a potentially euphoric Monday.
