OMAHA, Neb. – A ball an inch deeper in a glove and a tag a few inches closer toward a diving runner’s hand were the inches in this game of inches that the Texas Longhorns will be thinking about until next baseball season.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the seventh, Georgia’s Ryan Black hit a high pop-up to shallow center that was corralled by a diving Dariyan Pendergrass. The Longhorns’ centerfielder held onto the ball for several seconds before it squirted out of his glove. Initially called out by second base umpire Rick Allen, a video review overturned the call and Black took first base with a single. Tre Phelps then took a fastball on the outside corner the other way for a single, giving the Bulldogs runners at the corners.
Two batters later, Rylan Lujo hit a pop fly midway down the left field foul line that was pulled in by Texas shortstop Adrian Rodriguez, who made a perfect throw to catcher Carson Tinney as Black sped home from third and the Georgia runner dove head first, getting his left hand to the plate before Tinney could apply the tag despite the ball arriving in plenty of time. A video review confirmed Black was safe at the plate, and a further challenge to determine whether Phelps tagged up at third also confirmed that the runner was safe, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.
The lead held as Georgia reliever Justin Byrd held the Longhorns to just two hits, striking out four over the final five innings as the Bulldogs eliminated Texas 2-0 to advance and face undefeated Oklahoma on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. EDT.
Texas lefty Luke Harrison and Georgia righty Dylan Vigue traded zeroes on the scoreboard through the first four innings, and though Texas threatened in the first, Vigue stayed in for four scoreless innings until Georgia head coach Wes Johnson went to Justin Byrd.
“We talk about two-out hitting. We scored eight runs with two outs yesterday. And if we get a bleeder to fall in there, then maybe it’s a different ball game, and certainly they would have gone to the bullpen quicker, I know,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said of the first inning, where Texas got runners to second and third with two outs. It was the only time they’d get a runner to third the whole night. “But then we let them get confident and then he started making better pitches, and we kept chasing out of the strike zone. Yeah, in these games with two great teams, it’s those little moments that change it.”
In the top of the fifth, Brennan Hudson drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a bunt by Kolby Branch. A weak grounder back to the mound by Ryan Black was enough to get Hudson to third. Tre Phelps turned on a first-pitch slider from Harrison, driving it into left field for a double and the first Bulldog hit of the night, scoring Hudson to give Georgia a 1-0 lead.
“He was good mixing up different motions, being able to throw in and out of the shadows. He was just making good spots,” said Georgia’s Tre Phelps of Harrison. “When they’re having a great guy on the mound, putting things where he wants, we’re going to have to fight as a collective, as a hitting group, and put the ball in play and not go down as many times as we did.”
An inning later, a one-out walk to Mike O’Shaughnessy, followed by a single by Kenny Ishikawa and a two-out walk to Hudson loaded the bases for Georgia, bringing Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle out to the mound to lift Harrison for elite reliever Sam Cozart. Harrison left having fanned 11 batters in 5 2/3 innings, walking four and giving up a run on two hits.
Entering the game with a 1.65 ERA and a 0.690 WHIP, Cozart struck out Kolby Branch looking on four pitches, with a 95 mph fastball at the knees on the inner third of the plate serving as the kiss goodbye.
But then in the seventh, the Bulldogs added the run from Black.
“I think that I did what I was trying to do, get the ball and put it on him as quick as I could,” Texas catcher Carson Tinney said of the late tag that Black avoided to score in the seventh, “I think there are different ways I could have gone about that. But I think I did what I was trying to do.”
Byrd continued to roll against the Longhorns, allowing two hits and two walks over five shutout innings in relief, a key performance that saved arms in the Georgia bullpen, which they’ll need over the next two nights against Oklahoma to have a chance to advance to the championship series.
“Anytime you fall into an elimination bracket, anytime you can save pitching, it’s massive,” Johnson said of his reliever’s performance. “So when you look at that, Justin being able to come in and attack the strike zone and finish that game out with length, Justin’s had length, thrown in games where he’s thrown multiple pitches. So I wasn’t worried about it. I think he only finished with like 62 pitches.”
Tomorrow, the Bulldogs will face Oklahoma again, who beat them 9-0 in the opener for both teams last Saturday. A win tomorrow would force a deciding game on Thursday.
“We’ve been bouncing back all year. Had some tough losses,” Tre Phelps said when asked what the win will do for the Bulldogs’ confidence heading into the game against Oklahoma. “If I’m not mistaken, I think we’ve lost one out of our last 20, 21 or so. So just being able to stay with it no matter what. I think we’ve done a great job at answering the bell.”
NOTEBOOK – When Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle challenged the safe call on the play at the plate where Ryan Black scored Georgia’s second run in the seventh inning, he only had one challenge remaining, having previously challenged when Georgia’s Mike O’Shaughnessy was hit by a pitch in the second inning.
So how did he challenge the tag and then challenge whether or not Black tagged up?
“How we ended up with a third review, I don’t know. But, I mean, I’ve been working with Billy [Van Raaphorst], the home plate umpire, and Mark [Wagers], the third base umpire, for a really long time. And if they would have said no, you can’t, I would have said okay,” Schlossnagle said. “I mean, that’s the price you spend on the challenging the hit-by-pitch in the first inning. But apparently there was — they, during that, they called back to the people back here, the umpires back. And they said we would be able to do it. That’s why I was out there for so long, because I’m certainly going to challenge everything they’ll let me challenge.”
Photo: Georgia pitcher Justin Byrd (5) reacts after an NCAA baseball College World Series elimination game against Texas, Tuesday, June 16, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. Georgia won 2-0. (AP Photo/Vera Nieuwenhuis)
