University of Georgia
39-19
Troy
42-20
Bulldogs Advance To NCAA Athens Regional Final
June 03, 2018 | Baseball
ATHENS, Ga. --- Ninth-ranked Georgia outlasted Troy 11-7 Sunday to advance to the NCAA Athens Regional final in front of a Foley Field crowd of 3,157.
The Bulldogs (39-19) will play Monday at 1 p.m. against Duke who eliminated Troy in the late game Sunday 15-6. At 2-0 in the regional, Georgia needs just one more win in this double-elimination format to advance to a Super Regional. If necessary, a second game on Monday versus Duke would be at 5 p.m.
For the Bulldog-Trojan contest, the ball was once again flying at Foley Field on a favorable day for hitters as the two offenses combined for seven home runs. Junior Michael Curry and senior Keegan McGovern each homered twice for the Bulldogs and drove in four apiece on the day, but found themselves trailing 6-5 after six innings of play.
With two outs and nobody on base in the top of the seventh inning the Bulldogs extended the inning after a Trojan error stringing together three consecutive hits taking an 8-6 lead after an RBI single by McGovern and a two run double by Curry.
Troy would edge closer in the bottom of the frame with a solo tally on a walk and a double narrowing the Georgia advantage to 8-7.
Georgia would tack on two more key insurance runs in the eighth capitalizing on a Trojan defensive miscue at first base and one in the ninth increasing the Bulldog lead to 11-7.
Freshman Ryan Webb came on in relief, pitching 2.2 shutout innings picking up his fourth save of the season, sending the Bulldogs to the regional championship game. Sophomore Zac Kristofak pitched three innings in relief of Kevin Smith to notch a win and move his record to 4-2. Troy reliever CJ Carter fell to 8-6, allowing five runs on five hits in two innings. Early in the contest, Georgia's star two-way sophomore third baseman/closer Aaron Schunk made a diving attempt on a pop up near the visiting dugout and broke his nose on a railing. He had to leave the game. Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said he is "day-to-day."
Georgia Head Coach Scott Stricklin
Opening statement…
"This was very similar to what we saw yesterday, hitters were very comfortable and pitchers were trying to find their way. I thought Zac Kristofak picked up Kevin Smith, our best guy, who knows maybe had a little rust not pitching in Hoover. He battled and competed got us to the fourth and, Zac Kristofak came in and settled it down. But these guys sitting next to me (McGovern and Curry) hitting 3-4 are pretty scary hitters trying to call pitchers against these guys. Our offense won this game, Zac Kristofak shut it down, Ryan Webb shut it down, our defense was outstanding but these two guys and our offense won this game."
Junior Designated Hitter Michael Curry
On Keegan's home run…
"You better believe that once he hits a home run I'm absolutely trying to do the same thing, we talk about it all the time. That's been our approach the whole season, to support our offense continue doing what we do and pick the team up."
Duke-Troy Recap From Sunday: Duke def. Troy 15-6
The second seeded Duke Blue Devils advanced to the Athens Regional final with an 15-6 win over the third seeded Troy Trojans in Sunday night's elimination game at Foley Field. The Blue Devils pounded out 22 hits using a three-run second inning and a four-run third to reclaim the lead from the Trojans who opened the game with four runs in the bottom of the first.
In his first career start designated hitter Chris Crabtree led the offensive charge for the Blue Devils going 4-for-5 with two homeruns and five RBI. In the double elimination format, the Blue Devils will need back-to-back wins over the Georgia Bulldogs with the first pitch of game one scheduled for 1pm and an if-necessary game scheduled for 5pm.
Duke Head Coach Chris Pollard
Opening statement…
"Congratulations to the Troy program and their success this season. They are a very good club, certainly the best we've faced offensively all season. I was once again very impressed by the resiliency of our team, we were down 4 in the first but we had a lot of poise and handled our offensive approach the best all season."
Junior Shortsop Zach Kone
On Corey Childress…
"He was definitely pounding the zone and had the off-speed working for him. He had a little two-seam run away from lefties and into righties. He was definitely pounding the zone. He was throwing strikes and having his slider working."
NCAA Athens Regional Results/Schedule
Sunday:
Georgia def. Troy 11-7
Duke def. Troy 15-6
Monday:
Georgia vs. Duke, 1 pm
(if necessary) Georgia vs. Duke, 5 pm
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kristofak, Zac (4-2)
L: Carter, CJ (8-6)
S: Webb, Ryan (4)
Batting:
2B: Curry, Michael 1 ; Talley, LJ 1
HR: McGovern, Keegan 2 ; Curry, Michael 2
RBI: Bradley, Tucker 1 ; McGovern, Keegan 4 ; Curry, Michael 4 ; Talley, LJ 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bradley, Tucker 1 ; Schunk, Aaron 1 ; Johnson, Ivan 1 ; McGovern, Keegan 3 ; Curry, Michael 2 ; Maxwell, Tucker 1 ; Talley, LJ 1 ; Smith, C.J. 1
SB: Maxwell, Tucker 1
HBP: Schunk, Aaron 1
Batting:
2B: Frederic, Drew 1 ; Lockridge, Brandon 1
HR: Frederic, Drew 1 ; Lockridge, Brandon 2
RBI: Frederic, Drew 2 ; Denison, Joey 1 ; Lockridge, Brandon 2 ; Mosley, Rigsby 1
SF: Denison, Joey 1 ; Mosley, Rigsby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sanders, Matt 2 ; Frederic, Drew 1 ; Denison, Joey 1 ; Lockridge, Brandon 3
CS: Denison, Joey 1 ; Goodwin, Sadler 1
HBP: Early, Manning 1
