University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Conor Dillon/UGAAA
Bulldogs Squash Any LIU Upset Hopes Early
May 30, 2026 | Baseball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
History did not repeat itself at Foley Field. Not even close.
On Feb. 26, 2019, Long Island's baseball team, then known as LIU Brooklyn, came to Athens for the first time, with an 0-6 record, and faced a Georgia squad that was 6-0 and ranked No. 9 in the country. The Blackbirds, as they were then known, left town with a 1-0 win.
The game was a reminder that surprising stuff can happen on a baseball diamond. And more unexpected results happened in the opening games of this year's NCAA tournament — but not in the third-seeded Bulldogs' opener to the Athens Regional.
Facing LIU in the Athens Regional on Friday night, Georgia scored six runs in the third inning, two more in the fourth and five more in the fifth to take control against LIU, and were ahead 15-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning when the game was paused due to heavy rain. Eventually, after a delay of more than 90 minutes, play was suspended until Saturday morning at 9. The Bulldogs went on to win, 18-2.
The Bulldogs (47-12) cruised in their first Athens Regional game, but not all of the top seeds in the tournament did. Top-seeded UCLA lost to St. Mary's, 3-2, and No. 4-seeded Auburn fell 13-8 against Milwaukee. The Bruins, the first team in college baseball history to be the top-ranked team in the country throughout the season, are the first No. 1 overall seed to lose in their regional opener.
Georgia had no such problems against Long Island, which merged athletic departments with Division II LIU Post in 2019 and is now called the Sharks. LIU came in having scored 10 runs in each of its previous six games, including 43 over three games en route to winning the NEC tournament.
But the SEC regular-season and tournament champion Bulldogs, led by their big bats and six hitless innings from Joey Volchko on the mound, showed why they're one of the hottest teams in the country. They've now won 15 of their last 16 games, and hit nine home runs against LIU to push their season total to 158, by far the most in the country.
After Volchko struck out the side in the top of the first inning, Georgia loaded the bases in the bottom of the first but came away empty. Volchko struck out two more in the second, but the Bulldog bats couldn't get anything going in the bottom of the frame.
In the third, after a 1-2-3 top of the inning that featured a brilliant bare-handed catch and throw to first base by shortstop Kolby Branch for the third out, Georgia's offense came alive. SEC Player of the Year Daniel Jackson led off with a single, All-SEC first-teamer Rylan Lujo also singled, and then Brennan Hudson was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out.
Kenny Ishikawa's check-swing infield single to third resulted in a throwing error that allowed three runs to score. Ryan Wynn then singled to shallow center field to drive in Ishikawa, and then Jack Arcamone hammered a two-run homer off the scoreboard to make it 6-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, Wynn made it 8-0 with a two-run homer to left field. Ryan Black led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer, and two batters later, Jackson hit his 28th homer of the season, a two-run blast. Two batters after that, Hudson went very deep, crushing the ball 439 feet to right-center. Georgia made it 13-0 later in the inning on a Branch RBI single up the middle.
After LIU scored a run in the top of the sixth after a hit batter, a walk and a passed ball, Jackson walked to lead off the bottom of the frame, and then Lujo homered to left field for a 15-1 lead. And then the rains came. In six innings Friday, Volchko struck out 10, walked four, and didn't allow a hit.
Hudson was on deck with no outs in the bottom of the sixth Friday when play was halted. Picking up Saturday morning where Georgia left off, he belted a solo homer. Wynn was up two batters later, and he also went deep again, pushing the score to 17-1. There are no run-rule stoppages in the NCAA tournament, so the game had to go the full nine innings.
Teddy Brennan took over on the mound in the top of the seventh, and after giving up a leadoff double, he struck out the side. Cole Johnson added to the home run barrage with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning.
Wynn finished with four hits, two home runs, four runs batted in and four runs scored. Hudson had two hits, both homers, and scored four runs, and Jackson had two hits, two RBIs, a pair of walks, and he scored three runs.
Up next for the Bulldogs is a Saturday afternoon matchup with Liberty. The Flames beat Boston College, 4-3, in the opening game of the Athens Regional, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth inning to move on in the winner's bracket.
Staff Writer
History did not repeat itself at Foley Field. Not even close.
On Feb. 26, 2019, Long Island's baseball team, then known as LIU Brooklyn, came to Athens for the first time, with an 0-6 record, and faced a Georgia squad that was 6-0 and ranked No. 9 in the country. The Blackbirds, as they were then known, left town with a 1-0 win.
The game was a reminder that surprising stuff can happen on a baseball diamond. And more unexpected results happened in the opening games of this year's NCAA tournament — but not in the third-seeded Bulldogs' opener to the Athens Regional.
Facing LIU in the Athens Regional on Friday night, Georgia scored six runs in the third inning, two more in the fourth and five more in the fifth to take control against LIU, and were ahead 15-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning when the game was paused due to heavy rain. Eventually, after a delay of more than 90 minutes, play was suspended until Saturday morning at 9. The Bulldogs went on to win, 18-2.
The Bulldogs (47-12) cruised in their first Athens Regional game, but not all of the top seeds in the tournament did. Top-seeded UCLA lost to St. Mary's, 3-2, and No. 4-seeded Auburn fell 13-8 against Milwaukee. The Bruins, the first team in college baseball history to be the top-ranked team in the country throughout the season, are the first No. 1 overall seed to lose in their regional opener.
Georgia had no such problems against Long Island, which merged athletic departments with Division II LIU Post in 2019 and is now called the Sharks. LIU came in having scored 10 runs in each of its previous six games, including 43 over three games en route to winning the NEC tournament.
But the SEC regular-season and tournament champion Bulldogs, led by their big bats and six hitless innings from Joey Volchko on the mound, showed why they're one of the hottest teams in the country. They've now won 15 of their last 16 games, and hit nine home runs against LIU to push their season total to 158, by far the most in the country.
After Volchko struck out the side in the top of the first inning, Georgia loaded the bases in the bottom of the first but came away empty. Volchko struck out two more in the second, but the Bulldog bats couldn't get anything going in the bottom of the frame.
In the third, after a 1-2-3 top of the inning that featured a brilliant bare-handed catch and throw to first base by shortstop Kolby Branch for the third out, Georgia's offense came alive. SEC Player of the Year Daniel Jackson led off with a single, All-SEC first-teamer Rylan Lujo also singled, and then Brennan Hudson was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out.
Kenny Ishikawa's check-swing infield single to third resulted in a throwing error that allowed three runs to score. Ryan Wynn then singled to shallow center field to drive in Ishikawa, and then Jack Arcamone hammered a two-run homer off the scoreboard to make it 6-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, Wynn made it 8-0 with a two-run homer to left field. Ryan Black led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer, and two batters later, Jackson hit his 28th homer of the season, a two-run blast. Two batters after that, Hudson went very deep, crushing the ball 439 feet to right-center. Georgia made it 13-0 later in the inning on a Branch RBI single up the middle.
After LIU scored a run in the top of the sixth after a hit batter, a walk and a passed ball, Jackson walked to lead off the bottom of the frame, and then Lujo homered to left field for a 15-1 lead. And then the rains came. In six innings Friday, Volchko struck out 10, walked four, and didn't allow a hit.
Hudson was on deck with no outs in the bottom of the sixth Friday when play was halted. Picking up Saturday morning where Georgia left off, he belted a solo homer. Wynn was up two batters later, and he also went deep again, pushing the score to 17-1. There are no run-rule stoppages in the NCAA tournament, so the game had to go the full nine innings.
Teddy Brennan took over on the mound in the top of the seventh, and after giving up a leadoff double, he struck out the side. Cole Johnson added to the home run barrage with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning.
Wynn finished with four hits, two home runs, four runs batted in and four runs scored. Hudson had two hits, both homers, and scored four runs, and Jackson had two hits, two RBIs, a pair of walks, and he scored three runs.
Up next for the Bulldogs is a Saturday afternoon matchup with Liberty. The Flames beat Boston College, 4-3, in the opening game of the Athens Regional, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth inning to move on in the winner's bracket.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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