NCAA super regionals: UGA bounces back to force Game 3 with NC State

ATHENS, Ga. — A day after NC State started the NCAA super regionals off with a bang, the Georgia Bulldogs gave the Wolfpack a dose of their own medicine on Sunday.

The Georgia lineup knocked out four home runs and sophomore Leighton Finley pitched six shutout innings to fuel Georgia to a 11-2 win in Game 2.

The teams will now play a winner-take-all Game 3 to earn a trip to the Men’s College World Series. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday.

“I thought it was a good bounce back today. It’s what they do, nothing special we did as coaches. We just got them ready to play, and these guys went and did it. For us, the bounce back was huge, and we just stayed focused on playing the game,” UGA coach Wes Johnson said.

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The weekend did not start off strong for the Bulldogs, whose bats went cold in an 18-1 loss in Game 1 on Saturday.

But the bats warmed back up in the Georgia heat on Sunday. Junior Slate Alford, freshman Tre Phelps, graduate Paul Toetz and senior Corey Collins each blasted a home run in the Game 2 win.

“It all starts with the older guys, the fourth and fifth years. They give the younger guys the confidence, like me, and being able to believe that the next guy can be just as good as you can. It’s why we’ve had a lot of team success this year,” said Phelps, who finished the game with four RBI.

On the mound, Finley showed poise for the Bulldogs pitching staff. He allowed only one run and struck out five batters.

“I try to always think of this as just another game and not forget to have fun. It was like almost every other series, game two, trying to win this to win the series. I try not to overthink things,” he said.

The Bulldogs now turn the page to Game 3 on Monday night. On the line? Their first trip to the CWS since 2008.

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