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College World Series Notebook
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Ryan Peisel (3) gets congratulations all the way around after hitting a 3-run home run against Stanford on Saturday night.
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Published: June 23, 2008
Updated: 06/22/2008 11:55 pm
Bulldogs credit turnaround to attitude
■ Think positive. That could be the motto for Georgia's turnaround from a losing season to playing for the national championship this year.
"It seems like we are playing to win this year as opposed to last year it seemed like everytime we got behind or we got up it's "What's going to go wrong today?"‘ third baseman Ryan Peisel said. "This year it seems like we're taking the fight to people instead of waiting back and it seems like we're attacking a lot more."
Georgia, 22-33 last year, defeated Stanford 10-8 on Saturday to go 3-0 in the College World Series and advance to the best-of-three championship starting today.
"I think the mental game, we're so much better at," said shortstop Gordon Beckham, who's batting .455 in the CWS and has scored four runs. "I think last year if something could go wrong, we thought it would happen. This year we think better thoughts, I guess."
■ Ryan Peisel has found a home in the leadoff spot for Georgia, even though Coach David Perno didn't always see it that way.
Peisel is batting .500 and has a CWS-leading seven RBIs in preparation for his 195th consecutive start for the Bulldogs in Monday's championship series.
After struggling early in the 2007 season, Peisel was moved to the No. 1 spot to get something going, Perno said.
"Son of a gun, he took off," Perno said. "Being the smart coach I am, I moved him out of there to start the (2008) year off and tried to create a little more speed up there, more of a traditional-type leadoff. We had to quickly switch him back. He just fell into it, he felt comfortable."
Peisel has hit two homers in the CWS. He was 3 for 5 with four RBIs in Georgia's CWS opener against Miami, 0 for 3 with a walk in the Bulldogs' first game against Stanford and 3 for 5 with a walk and three RBIs in the second meeting with the Cardinal.
"He's usually going to give you a quality at-bat," Perno said. "He has shown power this year and he's hit for good average. He's about as good a leadoff as we've had in a long time."
■ Alex White has been serving double duty for Coach Mike Fox of North Carolina.
White pitched seven innings and got the win in UNC's opening game 8-4 win against LSU. He then got two more wins as a reliever in a second-game 7-3 win over LSU and on Saturday in a 4-3 win against Fresno State.
"I think Alex may have found a new role," Fox said jokingly after the relief win against Fresno State.
White (13-3) is the ninth pitcher to win three games in a single College World Series. Against Fresno State on Saturday, he came in with one out in the seventh and the bases loaded.
"It's fun coming in in that situation and it's different mentally, yes," White said. "With the bases loaded, you've got to throw strikes."
None of the eight Fresno State batters he faced got on base. Five struck out, two grounded out and one flied out to center.
■ North Carolina's 4-3 win against Fresno State was the eighth come-from-behind victory in 12 CWS games.... North Carolina's Chad Flack is the CWS' career leader in at-bats with 70. Southern Cal's Daryl Arenstein had the record of 68 from 1970 through '73.
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