Georgia skipper Wes Johnson chalked up Leighton Finley’s short outing in Friday’s 8-7 win over Army in the opening round of the Athens Regional to a simple case of nerves.

“Leighton was a little nervous,” Johnson said. “It’s OK, though. That means you’re in the right moment.

"We’ll talk to him about his heartbeat. We’ll get him back under control and you may see him again this weekend.”

Finley, who had not pitched since May 17 against Florida, took 28 pitches to make it through the first inning and never made it out of the fourth. In 3.2 innings, the sophomore right-hander allowed four earned runs on a pair of two-run homers with two walks and just one strikeout.

“Until you get in those situations, you don’t know how you’re going to respond,” Johnson said. “I thought Leighton actually got close to settling back down. So, no, it was a very, very good learning experience for him and I’m very excited how he’ll build off of that.”

Sophomore Kolten Smith is expected to start Saturday night’s winner’s bracket game against UNC-Wilmington. Smith was actually warming up in the ninth before Christian Mracna closed out today's game.

Johnson explained why.

“He didn’t throw pregame, so it was like OK, he was going to throw afterward either way,” Johnson said. “It is tough falling behind. But yeah, it was like ok, get your throwing in, but you also need to get ready to go to the tent.”

Charlie Condon doesn’t do much wrong, but an uncharacteristic throwing error proved costly in the eighth inning.

With runners at first and second, Army's Thomas Schreck hit a slow roller to Condon, who short-armed with his toss sailing over third base. His errant throw allowed a run to score.

Army would tie the game one batter later on an RBI groundout before Christian Mracna struck out William Parker with the bases loaded ending the inning.

“The game sped up on me there for a minute and I made a bad throw,” Condon said. “That’s why I’m lucky to have a pitching staff and a group of offensive bats that can keep us back in the game. So, thankfully, it didn’t end up mattering that much.”

Georgia would reclaim its 8-7 advantage in the bottom of the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Fernando Gonzalez.

“It’s just how this group operates,” Condon said. “Everybody has each other’s back and they had mine today.”

Georgia’s Dillon Carter finished his first four at-bats with an interesting stat line.

Twice, Carter walked on four pitches. In the other two at-bats, Carter was hit by a pitch on the first pitch each time.

During his four years as a Bulldog, Gonzalez was one of the most experienced players in the SEC.

His at-bat in the eighth inning that led to Georgia tying the game was an example of that experience paying off.

The count was 0-2 on the native of Panama before he picked the third pitch from Andrew Berg to line out to deep left-center, driving in what became the game-winning run.

“For a guy like Fernando who's been around the league so long, it’s nothing new for him. That’s why this entire group is so comfortable with him in the box. He’s about as veteran as it gets as far as SEC play,” Condon said. “He’s played in big moments. He’s been in bad counts, but he’s someone who is always going to have a slow heartbeat. I think I speak for the rest of the team that we have all the faith in the world in him, and pretty much any other guy who we sent out in a moment like that."

Gonzalez, who went 2 for 3 with the RBI, upped his average to .306 on the season.

Johnsom said he was happy with the performance of reliever Brian Zeldin, who allowed three earned runs in four innings before coming out after 87 pitches.

“I was trying to squeeze that last out of him, but he got tired and walked those two guys. Before that, I thought he threw the ball exceptionally well. Especially after he settled down after his first inning and cruised in his second and third which settled the game down,” Johnson said. “We’ve got some guys who this is their first time in the postseason. They were nervous today, and you could really see it. But Brian, once he got settled down, he pitched in these games. He really started to settle us down. He did good today.”

Condon had praise for the crowd of 3,795, which he said made a difference for the home team.

“It’s big time. I’ve played in a lot of games this year so to see the turnout today was fun. It shows a lot to promise for the program and its future as well and getting attention back to baseball, as it should be,” Condon said. “You could feel the energy behind you, that it’s on your side and it’s a positive for you. We play big road games in the SEC, and we know what it’s like to be on the other side of a packed crowd like that.”

Army head coach Chris Tracz did not know the outcome, but he felt his Black Knights would give the Bulldogs a fight.

“It wasn’t an easy route. We were down to our last swing a handful of times and if came down to it again we’d be ready to go,” Tracz said. “We weren’t going to give up.”

They didn’t.

Army – which jumped out to a 4-1 lead – was in the game up until the final out when pinch-hitter Ethan Ellis grounded out with runners at first and second.

“Again, these guys are built for this. They’re built to withstand the competitive stamina of continuing to play and stay in the game and did a great job of not folding,” Tracz said. “There were times we were teetering again then we got a double play. They line out with the bases loaded. We were able to get off the field to give us a chance offensively. The resiliency, the toughness, the competitiveness, the attitude all the things that make elite people, these guys have it and it was on display today.”

Nevertheless, Tracz came away impressed by what he saw from Georgia.

“That lineup is as least an enjoyable nine innings as you can play. They’ve got a chance every time someone is at the plate. So, yeah, they can withstand a ton. Their pitchers did a good job of just, again, not allowing no really huge innings,” Tracz said. “We scored, but we weren’t able to distance ourselves too much which puts their offense at a chance to be in a situation, where a walk, a double, and a home run can get you. They are just so relentless in that fashion.

“Kolby Branch comes up and he’s got 15 home runs in the nine-hole. That’s not right. It’s right for Georgia. It’s not right for anybody else. They’re built well to have success and it’s easy to see why they’re the No. 7 seed.”