What does Georgia baseball's quick exit from SEC Tournament mean for top 8 national seed?
Georgia baseball was bounced from the SEC Tournament Tuesday by LSU 9-1.
The quick exit in the game that started at 9:33 a.m. local time in Hoover, Ala., certainly didn’t help Georgia’s chances of landing a top eight national seed in the NCAA Tournament.
That would keep the Bulldogs at Foley Field for both the NCAA Regional and a Super Regional should they advance.
The Bulldogs (39-15) were projected as the No. 8 national seed by D1 Baseball and Baseball America before the loss.
Georgia should be in good shape to host a regional next week after going 17-13 in the SEC but Georgia coach Wes Johnson didn’t lobby in the postgame press conference for the top 8 seed.
“I don’t get too caught up in that, but I definitely think we’re worthy of hosting,” Johnson said. “You win 17 games in our league, I mean there’s all kinds of stuff out there about teams getting in with 12 and 13 potentially. It’s like if they’re going to get in with potentially 13 regular season wins and then we won 17, that math to me doesn’t add up. National seeds, that’s out my (hands). There’s a lot of factors that have to play out this week, but I do think we are worthy of hosting.”
The 64-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced Monday.
Georgia has an RPI of No. 7 nationally and a strength of schedule of No. 9.
“Truly they’ve done as much as they could have done,” SEC Network analyst Lance Cormier said during the game broadcast. “Their RPI is where it is. They’ve done really well against the top 25 RPI. It’s a great resume but it doesn’t sit good when you come here and put up one run when you’re the offensive team and that’s what the last part of it, the last taste in your mouth and the last basically just snapshot that you gave the committee.”
Lefthander Gage Jump (6-1) mowed down the No. 6-seeded Bulldogs, striking out seven and allowing just a run, four hits and a walk over seven innings against a team that ranked third nationally in home runs.
The first six hitters in Georgia’s lineup went 2 of 19 including SEC Player of the Year Charlie Condon going 0-for-4, ending his 24-game hitting streak.
Johnson went with Jarvis Evans (3-2) as the starting pitcher and he lasted only 1/3 of an inning, giving up two runs on three hits with two walks against six batters. Four other pitchers followed out of the bullpen on a day No. 11 seed LSU (37-20) racked up 14 hits.
“We gave up 11 singles, we walked too many guys (7), we missed too many fast balls in the strike zone,” Johnson said. “There’s no manual to overcome a starter going a third of an inning. You’ve just got to try to minimize damage.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: What lopsided loss to LSU means for Georgia baseball as top 8 NCAA seed
