NCAA Regionals: UGA strikes early to pop Mercer, Tech strikes late to pop FAMU
Former Houston County standout Tony Locey was sharp Friday in leading Georgia over Mercer in the Athens Regional opener.
Photo: Kristin M. Bradshaw/UGA
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Expect the unexpected in the postseason.
And Friday night offered the unexpected in the NCAA Regional in Athens.
Tanner Hall couldn’t get out of the first inning.
And Georgia seemingly couldn’t get out.
The Bulldogs hammered the Houston County alum in a dominating offensive performance and Tony Locey was sharp in Georgia’s 13-3 win at Foley Field in the Athens Regional.
In Athens
Florida State 13, Florida Atlantic 7
The Seminoles found Foley Field to their liking, belting six homers – two from Tim Becker and two from Drew Mendoza - en route to dump the in-state foe.
The wind helped FSU more than FAU.
“Who cares?” FSU head coach Mike Martin said.
The Seminoles had lost two straight regional openers, so Tennessee Tech and Samford, but were comfortable in just their fourth road regional in the last 29 years.
FAU has now lost four straight regional openers, but the Owls have won the next game each time.
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In Atlanta
Auburn 16, Coastal Carolina 7
A five-run eighth put Auburn in control en route to 18 hits and an impressive opening-game performance.
"Probably our best offensive game of the season," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said.
Indeed, Auburn (34-25_ got six hits from the top two spots in the lineup, Judd Ward and Ryan Bliss. Steven Williams led the bottom part with four hits and five RBI, three on a fourth-inning homer.
Coastal fell to 35-25-1 after getting outhit 18-10 and stranding 10 runners.
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- Some information supplied by sports information departments
Georgia (45-15) faces Florida State at 7 p.m. Saturday, and Mercer (35-28) gets Florida Atlantic at 1 p.m. in an elimination game.
Georgia was within a hit or two early of its season high in runs, which was in a 17-0 win over Presbyterian in early March, as the anticipation of two Houston County alums pitching against each other evaporated only minutes into the game.
The Bulldogs led 3-0 after 18 pitches, on a double, single, and Aaron Schunk homer. Two singles and then two outs followed, and a walk to Mason Meadows ended Hall’s day.
But not his line.
Jackson Kelley came on and hit his first batter with his first pitch, and then leadoff hitter Tucker Maxwell belted a grand slam in his second at-bat of the inning.
Hall lasted eight batters and 32 pitches, getting tagged with six runs and five hits, with a walk and no strikeouts in likely the worst line of his high school and college career.
Georgia didn’t discriminate on offense.
Kelly lasted 1.2 innings, and gave up six hits and six runs. Scott Smith found some success, calming the bats a bit.
Meanwhile, Hall’s former high school teammate was very much on point for most of his five innings.
“I thought Tony Locey set the tone tonight in the first inning,” UGA head coach Scott Stricklin said. “A lot of emotion going on with Tony, pitching against his high school teammate, Tanner (Hall). I know Tony has an emotional side to him and I thought he was really focused.”
Unfortunately for Mercer.
“Locey was outstanding tonight, probably one of the best arms we've seen all year,” Mercer head coach Craig Gibson said. “He was dominant from the first pitch.”
Locey improved to 11-2, averaging 15 pitches an inning through his five innings. He struck out seven and walked one with three hits.
The Bears broke the shutout with a three-run homer by Kyle Dockus with one out in the top of the seventh.
Mercer pitchers Will Bowdoin, Holton McGaha, and Josh Farmer turned in solid performances as both teams started inserting backups. That trio struck out eight with a walk.
The Bears prevented an embarrassing loss with the late homer and improved pitching performance.
Georgia scored 18 last year against Campbell in the regional opener, an 18-5 win. The Bulldogs opened last season with a 22-9 win over Georgia Southern.
Maxwell drove in six runs on three hits from the leadoff spot, Schunk five on two hits, both homers. LJ Talley had three hits and Patrick Sullivan two.
Georgia Tech 13, Florida A&M 2
FAMU made the hosts sweat for a good while, trailing only 5-2 through six innings.
But Georgia Tech’s five-spot in the bottom of the seventh put the Yellow Jackets in control to open the Atlanta Regional with a strong finish in the win.
Tristin English had a huge game, going 4-for-4 with five RBI, Colin Hall adding three hits and two RBI. The Jackets got two-hit games from Michal Guldberg, Kyle McCann, and Austin Wilhite. Nick Wilhite scored three times.
Amos Willingham went six and fanned four with two walks for the win.
Tech improved to 42-17 and FAMU dropped to 27-33.