No muss, no fuss; no stress, no mess.

For Georgia, Friday night’s opener against Mercer in the first round of the Athens Regional could not have gone any better, as the Bulldogs advanced to Saturday’s winner’s bracket game against Florida State by rolling past the Bears, 13-3.

First pitch between Bulldogs (45-15) and Seminoles (37-21) is set for 7 p.m.

Offensively, it was one of Georgia’s better nights of the year. The 13 runs tied for the second-most runs scored by the Bulldogs this year, behind a season-high 17 against Presbyterian back on March 8.

Tucker Maxwell and Aaron Schunk both had huge nights.

Maxwell came a triple short of the cycle, going 3 for 4 with a grand slam and six RBI, while Schunk went 2-for-4 with his 12th and 13th home runs, driving in five. ,outhit the Bears 15-7.

"We could tell through our BP (batting practice) and their BP that the ball was flying out," Maxwell said. "But it wasn't a matter of us trying to hit home runs; we were just trying to hit the ball hard."

The Bulldogs also got just what they hoped from starting pitcher Tony Locey (11-2). The junior right-hander went five innings, allowing just three hits with one walk and seven strikeouts, before being replaced by Logan Moody to start the sixth after throwing 73 pitches.

Whatever hopes the Bears (35-28) had of pulling the upset were quickly extinguished as the Bulldogs jumped on lefty Tanner Hall for eight runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run homer by Schunk and a grand slam by Maxwell, who led off the contest with what would be the first of five straight hits by the Bulldogs.

Hall (8-6) never made it out of the inning.

After a walk to Mason Meadows, side-winding right-hander Jackson Kelley, who hit Randon Jernigan with his first pitch, bringing in a run. Two pitches later to Maxwell, the junior launched a high-ball just to the left of the batter’s eye in center. Center fielder Collin Price made a valiant effort, but the ball landed just past his glove for Maxwell’s second grand slam and seventh by the Bulldogs this year, tying a school record set last season.

"It's always emotion when you play in a regional, so when you put up eight runs right there, it allows your pitcher to settle in. It allows Tony to be more aggressive," Stricklin said. "You can make mistakes when you have the cushion; you can make some mistakes. He really didn't make any, but that's what we need out of Tony. We need him to be aggressive."

Georgia wasn’t done.

Five more runs in the third—three coming on Schunk’s second home run—pushed the lead to 13-0 and the Bulldogs never looked back.

"It felt good off the bat, and I thought it had a chance, especially with the way the ball was flying today," Schunk said of the ball which hit the top of the center field fence before bouncing over the wall. "I saw him (center fielder Collin Price) jump up, and it looked like it hit his glove before it bounced over the wall. But a home run is a home run. It was fun coming around the bases on that one."

Moody, who pitched the sixth and seventh, allowed a three-run homer to Kyle Dockus to cut the lead to 13-3, before Daryn Pasqua closed out the game with a scoreless eighth and ninth.

Mercer head coach Craig Gibson was impressed with what he saw from the Bulldogs, who improved to 29-3 at Foley Field.

"Georgia is as good as its ranking with its national seed," Gibson said. "Locey was outstanding. Probably the best arm we've seen all year. That's a fun club to watch, but tough when you're on the other side."

Mercer graduate Kel Johnson, who transferred to the Bears from Georgia Tech, gave props to the predominately Red and Black crowd of 3,256.

"It was really an electric environment, and that's fun," Johnson said. "You know, you hear some things said to you that, you know, I couldn't repeat here. But like I said, the electric environment is a lot of fun for us as players."

Next up for Georgia, a Saturday night date (7 p.m.) against a Seminole team that blasted Florida Atlantic, 13-7.

The Seminoles, who will be the home team Saturday, will send out ace right-hander C.J. Van Eyk (9-3, 3.74) against Bulldog ace Emerson Hancock (8-2, 1.56).

"He would fit right in our league," Stricklin said. "He's an SEC arm, up to 97, but he'll pitch 93-94. But he's tough, his breaking ball is pretty good, and when he goes, he'll throw that slider. He reminds me a lot of the (Peyton) Plumlee kid for Mississippi State, who pitches in the three-hole with maybe a little more velo (velocity)."

Boxscore

Saturday

Mercer vs Florida Atlantic (elimination game), 1 p.m.

Georgia vs Florida State (winner’s bracket game), 7 p.m.

Sunday

Mercer-Florida Atlantic winner vs Georgia-Florida State loser, noon

Winner of Sunday’s first game vs. Georgia-Florida State winner, 6 p.m.

Monday

If necessary, 4 p.m.