Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2008

College World Series: Fresno State loses grip on Game 1

Georgia rallies with four-run eighth

By ERIC OLSON
The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. -- Gordon Beckham's teammates had given him a hard time for a week because he hadn't hit the home run that would make him Georgia's career leader.

"Tonight," he said, "was a pretty good time to do it."

Yes, it was.

Beckham's two-run shot to left-center started a four-run eighth inning that brought Georgia from three runs down to defeat Fresno State 7-6 in Game 1 of the College World Series finals Monday night.

Matt Cerione and Joey Lewis followed with consecutive doubles for the tying and go-ahead runs, and then All-America closer Joshua Fields pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to finish off Fresno State.

Georgia (45-23-1) now stands one win 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 on Tuesday.

"We're a loose ballclub," Fresno State third baseman Tommy Mendonca said. "We can't play tense and tight. That's when errors and mental mistakes come. We can't be all angry about every little thing. It's baseball. You're going to fail. We just have to be calm, be loose, be easy."

Fresno State appeared to take control in the top of the eighth when it scored three runs to go up 6-3 against Alex McRee and two other relievers.

But Georgia, which had rallied in the seventh inning or later to win its first two CWS games, wasn't finished.

"We never think we're out of it," Beckham said. "We showed it tonight."

Beckham, the eighth overall pick of the draft by the Chicago White Sox, hadn't homered since hitting two in Georgia's super regional-clinching win over North Carolina State on June 8.

"I told Coach earlier on in the week that everybody was giving me a bunch of grief for not hitting a home run and breaking that record," Beckham said. "I told him, 'Coach I'm going to hit one when we need it most.' I'm happy it worked out, but we still have to win another game."

Georgia coach David Perno vouched for Beckham.

"All the way back to his freshman year, Beckham has called his shots," Perno said.

After Matt Olson singled leading off the bottom of the eighth, Fresno State called on closer Brandon Burke. Beckham sent Burke's second pitch over the fence for his first homer in Omaha, 27th of the season and school-record 52nd of his career.

GEORGIA 7

FRESNO STATE 6

At Rosenblatt Stadium

Omaha, Neb.

Fresno St. 010 020 030 -- 6 7 0

Georgia 100 101 04x -- 7 10 1

Bonesteele, Floethe (4), Tomlinson (4), Breckley (6), Burke (8) and Overland; Holder, McRee (8), Earls (8), Harvil (8), Fields (9) and Massanari, Crane (9). W -- Harvil 2-1. L -- Burke 4-6. Sv -- Fields (18). HRs -- Fresno St., Ribera (5), Detwiler (10), Mendonca (18). Georgia, Beckham (27).