Georgia's season is on the brink.
A 6-3 loss to Duke at Foley Field on Saturday night has the Bulldogs one loss away from an abrupt end to their season.
Georgia now has to win three games over the next two days, beginning against Oklahoma State tomorrow at noon, to advance to the Super Regionals.
"You've got to win the first one before you can do anything else," Georgia head coach Wes Johnson said. "So we will sell out to win that, and then you go to the next one. And if you're fortunate enough to win that, you sell out to win, and then you go to the next. And then there's that point where, I love the definition of toughness. That says toughness is just simply, you're capable of great endurance. That's what you need tomorrow, is you need the toughness that's capable of great endurance."
Bulldogs baffled by Kyle Johnson
Duke starting pitcher Kyle Johnson picked a fine time to deliver his best outing of the season.
The left-hander limited Georgia to just one hit, a solo homer from Ryland Zaborowski, through the game's first five innings. For the night, Johnson went five innings and allowed two runs on three hits. Both runs came on solo home runs.
Saturday marked the third time this season Johnson completed five innings. He also hit that mark against Cornell and Northwestern in February, although he allowed three and four runs in those outings, respectively.
"You've got to tip your hat to him," Johnson said. "I think he had 14 walks and five strikeouts coming into tonight. Didn't walk anybody, struck out six. He had his stuff, commanded his stuff. We knew going in, he was a good, talented arm. It came together for him tonight. He held us down."
Late chances squandered
After Johnson departed, the Bulldogs had their chances to rally.
Johnson allowed a single to the final batter he faced, Slate Alford, in the sixth. After a pitching change, a single from Tre Phelps put runners on the corners with no outs.
The ensuing hitter, Robbie Burnett, lined into a double play to first baseman Jake Hyde, who snared the ball and stepped on the bag to double off Phelps. A strikeout then ended the threat.
"The double play there when Robbie hit the ball to first base, that took a little wind out of our sail," Johnson said. "I mean, you can't do a whole lot about that. He hit the ball hard. Base runner can't get back on that. I mean, the guy fell back on it."
Georgia had runners on first and second with no outs in the seventh, but couldn't cash in. A pair of hits with two outs put runners on the corners in the eighth, but a strikeout ended the threat.
Overall, the Bulldogs started 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position before an RBI single from Nolan McCarthy in the ninth made the score 6-3.
"I mean, obviously in the postseason, that's how you win and lose games," catcher Henry Hunter said. "Being one for eight, obviously the runners in scoring position, you look at the final score, I mean, it has a lot to do with it. We've just got to do a little bit better job of slowing the game down and shrinking the strike zone and getting a good pitch to hit and putting ourselves in a better position for sure."
Curley gets whiffs, gives up long balls
Georgia starting pitcher Brian Curley showcased his usual nasty stuff. He recorded seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings while his fastball sat around 96 miles per hour.
But the long ball is what gave Curley trouble. He gave up a pair of home runs that proved fatal to Georgia's efforts.
The first came when Ben Miller launched a three-run shot over the batter's eye in the top of the third, putting Duke on top 3-1. Leadoff hitter Wallace Clark added a solo homer, the first of two he'd eventually hit over the wall, in the top of the fifth.
"The difference sometimes in outings is literally probably two to three balls, the width of two to three baseballs," Johnson said. "You move the ball over a little more, down, pick your location on that. Unfortunately on those two pitches, he missed in the heart of the plate. Obviously, we're not trying to throw it middle, middle. So it happens when you're a competitor, and you're trying to get in there, and you're feeling your stuff, and they got off two really good swings."
This and That
- Johnson said he has not decided on a starter for tomorrow's game against Oklahoma State. He plans to take one more look at the Cowboy lineup before making that call. JT Quinn is a potential option to get the start.
- All three pitchers Duke used on Saturday were lefties. Georgia has struggled against left-handed pitching all season.
- Freshman pitcher Nate Taylor made his postseason debut with a scoreless eighth inning.
- With the win, Duke improved to 33-1 when leading after six innings.
- Georgia and Oklahoma State will play an elimination game at noon tomorrow at Foley Field. If the Bulldogs win, they will face Duke again at 6 p.m. A victory there would set up a winner-take-all game on Monday in Athens.