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Georgia rallies in eighth, nips Fresno State 7-6
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Rich Poythress scores the winning run for Georgia.
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Published: June 24, 2008
Updated: 06/23/2008 11:50 pm
OMAHA, Neb. - OMAHA, Neb. - Joey Lewis hit a tiebreaking double in Georgia's four-run eighth inning, and the Bulldogs came from three runs down to defeat the Fresno State Bulldogs 7-6 in Game 1 of the College World Series finals last night.
Fresno State appeared to take control in the top of the eighth when it scored three runs to go up 6-3. But Georgia (45-23-1) wasn't finished, and is one win away from a second national championship to go with the one it won in 1990.
Fresno State (45-31), 4-0 in elimination games in the NCAA tournament, will try to keep its improbable postseason run alive when the teams meet in Game 2 tonight.
After Matt Olson singled leading off the bottom of the eighth, Fresno State called on closer Brandon Burke. Gordon Beckham sent Burke's second pitch over the fence in left-center for his 27th homer, with Burke breaking into a big smile and shaking his head as soon as the ball left the bat.
Burke (4-6) walked Rich Poythress, and then Matt Cerione doubled into the left-field corner. Poythress made it home from first, coming across the plate for the tying run as Danny Muno's relay throw hit him in the back.
Cerione scored the go-ahead run when Lewis' bouncer up the middle glanced off the second-base bag and shot into short left field.
All-America closer Joshua Fields, who gave up four runs to Stanford in the ninth inning Saturday before hanging on for a 10-8 win, set Fresno State down 1-2-3 to end the game.
Will Harvil (2-1), the fourth of Georgia's five pitchers, worked a third of an inning for the win.
Fresno State led 6-3 in the top of the eighth after Steve Susdorf hit a tiebreaking double.
Susdorf's nation-leading 32nd double off Alex McRee ignited a three-run eighth that gave Fresno State's depleted pitching staff a little cushion. Tommy Mendonca hit his 18th homer and Detwiler followed with an RBI double against Justin Earls for a 6-3 lead.
Fresno State got home runs from the bottom of its lineup to take a 3-2 advantage.
Jordan Ribera, the No. 9 hitter who came in batting .118 in the CWS, homered off Georgia starter Trevor Holder's first pitch of the third inning.
In the fifth, after Holder walked Ryan Overland, Detwiler sent a drive high into the stands in left field for his second homer in Omaha and 10th of the season.
Before its eighth-inning outburst, Georgia had scored single runs in the first, fourth and sixth innings.
Notes: Fresno State advanced to the championship series with a 6-1 win against North Carolina, which got impressive performances from sophomores Dustin Ackley and Tim Fedroff.
Ackley finished the year hitting .417 and had 116 hits, second nationally to Buster Posey of Florida State. Fedroff hit .404 for the year and had 115 hits.
In the CWS, Ackley was 12 for 23 (.522) and Fedroff 10 of 21 (.476).
They left the CWS after five games as No. 1 and 2 in hits and tied with two others for total bases with 13. Fedroff also was in a tie for first in runs scored with six.
First-baseman Ackley was 3 for 5 and right-fielder Fedroff 3 for 4 in their elimination-round loss to Fresno State.
"Give some credit to North Carolina," Fresno State starting pitcher Clayton Allison said after the Bulldogs' victory Sunday night.
"That Ackley guy -- I can't get him out. Fedroff is an outstanding hitter. Ackley had what -- 16 hits or something this tournament? It's amazing from that standpoint and their team being here three years in a row is an amazing accomplishment."
It's the first time that North Carolina had two players end the season hitting better than .400....
North Carolina's final 54-14 record ties with Florida State for most wins in the country this season....
North Carolina finishes the year leading the country in ERA (2.92), strikeouts per nine innings (10) and hits per nine innings (7.56)....
The one run scored by the Tar Heels in the 6-1 loss to Fresno State is only the third time this year that North Carolina was held to one run or less.
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