The Georgia Bulldogs baseball team secured a 6-1 victory over the Liberty Flames on Sunday night to win the Athens Regional, earning a spot in the Super Regionals for the second time in three years.
A crowd of over 3,600 fans at Foley Field witnessed the win, which was marked by the mid-game ejections of freshman Tre Phelps and head coach Wes Johnson.
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Georgia fell behind early after Liberty scored a run in the first inning, and starting pitcher Cooper Harrington retired the first ten Bulldogs batters.
“For those first six innings, I thought their starter came out, threw the ball well. Kind of kept us off balance,” Johnson said.
He praised Harrington's unique lower release height and control.
The momentum shifted in the sixth inning when Phelps hit a go-ahead home run over the left field wall.
He was immediately ejected after gesturing toward the stands where his parents were seated, and Johnson was also ejected.
“Tre’s family was sitting up in the stands. Tre was waving at his family.
The umpires – whatever, you know I’m not an umpire – they thought he was talking to their dugout,” Johnson explained.
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The ejections carry automatic disciplinary actions, meaning Phelps will miss the opening game of the Super Regional. Johnson stated he has no further penalties.
Georgia starting pitcher Caden Aoki delivered a dominant performance, striking out a career-high 11 batters while allowing only one hit over six innings.
