Oklahoma hits 5 homers, beats Georgia 11-4 to reach College World Series finals
Georgia's historic season came to an end Wednesday night as Oklahoma powered past the Bulldogs 11-4 in the College World Series semifinals at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
The Sooners used a barrage of home runs to advance to the national championship series, hitting five homers and building an early lead that Georgia could not overcome. Oklahoma struck first with a solo home run from Jason Walk in the third inning before adding three more runs in the fourth on home runs by Trey Gambill and Dasan Harris for a 4-0 advantage.
Georgia answered in the fifth when senior shortstop Kolby Branch doubled and later scored on an RBI single by Ryan Black to cut the deficit to 4-1.
The Bulldogs mounted their biggest threat in the sixth inning. Trailing 5-1, Georgia loaded the bases and trimmed the lead to 5-3 after Branch and Black each drew bases-loaded walks. Oklahoma responded immediately with a run in the bottom half of the inning and never allowed the Bulldogs to get closer.
The Sooners broke the game open in the eighth inning as Harris launched his second two-run homer of the night and Walk added another solo shot to extend the lead to 9-3.
Georgia's pitching staff battled throughout the night. Redshirt sophomore Paul Farley started and worked 3 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out six. Senior Matt Scott followed with four innings of relief before Justin Byrd, Zach Brown, Grant Edwards and Joe Nottingham combined to finish the game.
Branch provided one final highlight for Georgia fans, blasting a home run in his last collegiate at-bat. The homer was his 20th of the season and the 56th of his career.
"We played a really hot baseball team," Georgia coach Wes Johnson said. "They are playing extremely well right now and at their peak. They executed pitches all night long, got off great swings in hitters counts. They didn't miss their pitch."
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs completed one of the most successful seasons in program history. Georgia finished 53-14, setting a school record for victories. The Bulldogs captured the SEC regular-season championship for the first time since 2008, won the program's first SEC Tournament title and advanced to the College World Series for the first time since 2008.
Georgia finished tied for third place at the College World Series with a 2-2 record in Omaha.
Reflecting on his career and the team's run, Branch said he hopes the Bulldogs inspired the next generation of players.
"We had a lot of fun and accomplished a lot," Branch said. "Hopefully made a lot of people excited about Georgia Baseball this year and for the future."
