Georgia turned an early burst into a 7-1 win over Texas on Saturday evening in the opening game of the Men's College World Series, using a four-run first inning and a complete-game effort from Joey Volchko to take command at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.
The result immediately changed both teams' paths. Texas was pushed into an elimination game on Monday, while Georgia moved into the winners' bracket, with the loss landing after a night in which No. 6 Texas could not recover from the opening inning.
Dylan Volantis gave Texas a chance to stay in it. He worked 6 1/3 innings, struck out nine and allowed only two earned runs on four hits, doing it on a career-high 111 pitches. After Georgia's first-inning rally, Volantis retired 16 of the next 18 batters, but the damage had already been done and Texas never fully closed the gap.
That first inning carried the weight of the game. Georgia scored four runs, and two of them were earned, a margin that pointed to defensive miscues that gave the Bulldogs extra room before the Texas bullpen even had time to settle the game down. Once Georgia had the lead, Volchko took over and never let it slip.
Volchko pitched his first career complete game, allowing one unearned run while striking out a career-high 15 and surrendering four hits. Rylan Lujo fueled the offense with a first-inning two-run home run and later added an RBI double in the seventh, and Kenny Ishikawa followed two batters later with a two-run single. Adrian Rodriguez and Ethan Mendoza each had two hits for Texas, but the offense never matched the early deficit.
Georgia improved to 52-12, while Texas fell to 45-14 and is now 88-66 all-time in Men's College World Series contests. Texas will face No. 7 Alabama at 1 p.m. Monday in an elimination game, and Georgia will meet Oklahoma at 6 p.m. Monday with a chance to keep moving through the bracket. For Texas, the next game is now a rescue mission; for Georgia, it is a clear path to keep its weekend intact.
