As the top seed and host in its NCAA Regional, the Georgia baseball team took the longest way possible to the title.

The only team to play five games, the Diamond Dogs sealed their advancement to a Super Regional Monday, topping Georgia Tech 18-6 in a championship game that took almost four hours to play.

Facing elimination for a third straight game, Georgia was able to
beat the Yellow Jackets a second night in a row, this time in a game that looked to be a slugfest early on but turned into a Bulldog rout.

“I didn’t see it coming tonight,” Georgia coach Dave Perno said. “These guys continue to amaze me. The will and the spirit and the camaraderie with this team is second to none.”

The Diamond Dogs are now 15-0 all-time when facing elimination in NCAA play at Foley Field.

“It’s crazy isn’t it?” Perno said. “After we lost Friday, I think we were 11-0 at the time, I told the guys history is on our side here, you just have to play to your identity. I don’t know why, I just think it’s the right players at the right time. Foley Field’s been good for us.”

After Georgia, playing as the visiting team, charted three runs in the top of the first, Bulldog starter Justin Grimm failed to retire a
batter. The Yellow Jackets scored five in the inning (four belonging to Grimm), and three more from the Bulldogs in the second made it a 6-5 game and looked to set the pace for a back-and-forth battle.

But 12 more Georgia runs in the fourth through seventh innings made sure the Diamond Dogs improved their record against Tech in NCAA play to 6-2 during the 2000s, including five straight.

Matt Olson and the rest of the Bulldog bats stayed hot, and were aided by six errors from the brick-handed Yellow Jackets, who had been the only team in the Regional not to make a fielding mistake coming into the night.

“We just didn’t play good, didn’t pick the ball up, didn’t catch it
didn’t throw it,” Tech coach Danny Hall said. “I honestly felt we had seven errors. I think they missed one somewhere.”

Olson, who was named the Regional’s Most Valuable Player, went 5-for-6 again Monday night, scoring four more runs and adding three RBI. That pushed his average to .692 (18-for-26) in the Regional, and his career stat line against Tech isn’t far off – he will forever sit at 18-for-37 with 16 RBI.

Sophomore first baseman Rich Poythress hit his third home run of the Regional, a two-run shot in the fifth. He finished the five-game weekend with 10 RBI.

All that and an RBI or run scored from all but one Bulldog in the
starting lineup combined for the most runs Georgia has scored in NCAA action since 1990-the year the Bulldogs won their lone national championship.

After struggling in his previous two outings, closer Joshua Fields
pitched a perfect ninth.

N.C. State, the top seed and host in its Regional, will come to Athens by virtue of Georgia’s top-eight national seed. The Wolfpack clinched their third Regional on Sunday, topping South Carolina 2-1. The teams will play a best-of-three series, with the winner headed to Omaha and the College World Series.

Box Score

Georgia 3 3 0 4 2 3 3 0 0 18 18 2
Ga. Tech 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 11 6

WP- McRee (6-1)
LP- Cumpton (2-1)