NCAA Baseball, Corvallis Regional: UGA Eliminated, Oregon State Heads To Nashville

Georgia Bulldogs baseball saw its 2011 season end at the hands of the Oregon St. Beavers Sunday night. UGA fell 6-4 in the 2011 NCAA baseball tournament's Corvallis Regional.

The Dawgs entered the ninth inning down by two runs after keeping pace with OSU for most of the game. Pinch hitter Kevin Ruiz singled, bringing the tying run to the plate with none out. Meanwhile, Beavers pitcher Tony Bryant suffered an injury from Ruiz' shot, which had bounced off his arm. Oregon State coaches and players gathered at the mound as he tested his arm, a lengthy delay during which Goss Stadium's freaking lights also went out. Get it together, Corvallis.

After a billion years, Levi Hyams popped out to right field. Bryant definitely looked to be having control issues, perhaps from his dinged arm, putting a few in the dirt as he walked Curt Powell. Kyle Farmer also flied out, and not deep enough for runners to advance. Cleanup hitter Zach Cone popped up, and that was that.

OSU will advance to the Nashville Super Regional, where the Vanderbilt Commodores await. That's set to begin June 10.

The Georgia Bulldogs took down the Creighton Bluejays 5-4 after trailing in the eighth inning by two runs, avenging their Round 1 loss and advancing to take on the hosting Oregon St. Beavers. They'll need a pair of victories over OSU to move on to the 2011 NCAA baseball tournament's Super Regionals round, with that second game coming Monday night if UGA can win Sunday night.

The Dawgs came in to the bottom of the ninth knotted up 4-4. With two outs, catcher Brandon Stephens jolted a single up the middle, but was stranded when Reese McGraw fanned third baseman Curt Powell. To extra innings! In the 11th, Stephens got the Jays back for that strike out, belting a base hit to right field that brought home Peter Verdin for the winning run.

The bats that had gone silent this postseason finally woke up for the Bulldogs in Corvallis, as Georgia took a 5-0 fifth-inning lead on Arkansas-Little Rock and cruised to a 7-3 win. That eliminates UALR and sets Georgia up with a rematch against the Creighton Bluejays, who beat the Dawgs 2-1 in the first game of the Corvallis Regional.

Georgia went up 1-0 in the first and clung to that lead for three more innings before designated hitter Brett DeLoach broke the game open by blasting a three-run homer to right field. Meanwhile, pitcher Alex Wood gave an efficient eight-inning performance, striking out eight batters before handing off to reliever Chase Hawkins, who retired the side in order in the ninth.

The Dawgs now get a shot at redemption Sunday afternoon against the team that shut down their bats on Friday; the loser is eliminated, while the winner gets to head right back to the diamond and face #1 seed Oregon State in the nightcap.

Sunday's schedule (all times EDT):

4 p.m.: Georgia vs. Creighton

9 p.m.: Winner vs. Oregon State

For a full schedule of today's NCAA Tournament action, including all of the regionals, click here. For more college baseball, browse SB Nation's list of college blogs. For more SEC, join Team Speed Kills. For more Bulldogs, join Dawgsports.

Georgia pitcher Michael Palazzone had a good day Friday, allowing only two runs in a complete-game performance against the Creighton Bluejays in the opener of the NCAA Baseball Tournament's Corvallis Regional. Unfortunately, the bats didn't hold up their end of the bargain, and the Bulldogs lost, 2-1.

Chase Davidson scored the Dawgs' lone run in the seventh inning off an RBI double from Jonathan Hester. In the bottom half of the inning, though, Creighton got base hits from four of their first five batters and a sacrifice bunt from second baseman Alex Staehely, giving them all the cushion they'd need.

That puts the Dawgs in an elimination game against the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans, who fell to Oregon State last night, 7-4. UALR actually held a 4-0 lead on OSU in the top of the fifth inning before the Beavers began their rally. Georgia, meanwhile, has averaged fewer than two and a half runs in six postseason games, meaning they'll probably need a huge game from LHP Alex Wood today.

Today's schedule (all times EDT):

4 p.m.: Georgia vs. Arkansas-Little Rock

9 p.m.: Creighton vs. Oregon Stat

For a full schedule of today's NCAA Tournament action, including all of the regionals, click here. For more college baseball, browse SB Nation's list of college blogs. For more SEC, join Team Speed Kills. For more Bulldogs, join Dawgsports.

The Georgia Bulldogs and Oregon St. Beavers are the biggest names in the 2011 College World Series' Corvallis Regional (click here for every Regional schedule), but the Creighton Bluejays earned the group's No. 2 seed. Though UGA rolls in with a premier RPI, that just-a-hair-over-.500 record likely left the selection committee wondering what to make of the Dawgs.

They'll get a chance to prove they're better than 31-30 against Creighton to open the Regional. In the late game, host Oregon State just has to stay focused against UALR, which enters its first-ever NCAA tourney with a losing record.

A very quick look at Round 1 pitching situations: UGA righty Michael Pallazonne (3.20) will take on Creighton's 11-1 Jonas Dufek (2.17), while Oregon State sends James Nygren (3.18) up against Arkansas-Little Rock, saving ace Sam Gaviglio (1.95) for Saturday.

Corvallis regional schedule (all times EDT)
Game 1: Georgia vs. Creighton, 4 p.m. Friday
Game 2: Arkansas-Little Rock vs. Oregon State, 9 p.m. Friday
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 4 p.m. Saturday
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 9 p.m. Saturday
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 4 p.m. Sunday
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m. Sunday
Game 7 (if necessary): Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m. Monday

Twenty-five College World Series games are in action Friday -- click here for game times, schedules and live score updates for all of them. For more college baseball, browse SB Nation's list of college blogs. For more SEC, join Team Speed Kills. For more UGA, join Dawg Sports.