2008 Athens Super Regional

Georgia Bulldogs

Athens, Georgia

At-large bid from SEC, 4-1 in Athens Regional

2008 record: 20-9-1, 39-22-1 (first in SEC East)

Head coach: Dave Perno (Georgia, 1991)

Record at school: 245-181-1, seven years

Overall record: 245-181-1, seven years

Assistant coaches: Jason Eller, Brady Wiederhold, Justin Holmes

Team offense: .306 BA, 439 R, 85 HR, .479 SLG%, .388 OBP, 69/92 SB

Team pitching: 4.72 ERA, 555 IP, 571 H, 204 BB, 467 K

Top hitters: Gordon Beckham (.397/24/65/17-18 SB), Rich Poythress (.364/15/64/19 2B), Bryce Massanari (.346/10/59/12 2B), Matt Olson (.333/8/41/12 2B), Ryan Peisel (.332/8/46/21 2B), Matt Cerione (.295/7/27/11 2B)

Top pitchers: Joshua Fields (2-2, 16 SV, 2.27, 31.2 IP, 12 H, 18 BB, 56 K), Dean Weaver (5-1, 2.91, 43.1 IP, 40 H, 15 BB, 45 K), Nick Montgomery (3-2, 4.01, 51.2 IP, 47 H, 14 BB, 53 K), Stephen Dodson (5-4, 4.41, 87.2 IP, 91 H, 12 BB, 46 K), Trevor Holder (7-4, 4.60, 78.1 IP, 93 H, 21 BB, 54 K), Nathan Moreau (4-2, 4.93, 65.2 IP, 66 H, 30 BB, 51 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (4-1 in Athens Regional, 2-1 in Athens Super Regional, 0-2 in College World Series)

Notes: After going 16-10 through March, Georgia won 11 of 13 to begin April and captured the SEC regular-season title. Their 20-9-1 mark was their best ever conference record. The Super Regional round pits two former CollegeBaseballInsider.com coach of the year winners in Georgia’s David Perno and NC State’s Elliott Avent. The Bulldogs have reached Omaha in two of Perno’s four trips to the NCAA postseason. UGA is 15-0 in NCAA tourney elimination games at Foley Field. They improved on that mark after getting upset by Lipscomb on Friday by rallying to win four straight against Louisville, Lipscomb and Georgia Tech (2). Senior outfielder Matt Olson went 5 for 6 with four runs and three RBI in the final win, going 18 for 26 (.692) with 10 runs and six RBI to earn Most Outstanding Player honors. Nick Montgomery gave the Dawgs a lift, tossing a complete-game shutout of the Yellow Jackets on Sunday. The powerful Georgia offense is led by SEC Player of the Year Gordon Beckham, whose 24 home runs set a school record. Beckham crossed the plate 85 times, most in Bulldogs history. He is also a finalist for Dick Howser trophy, the SEC scholar-athlete of the year and a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award. All-American senior closer Joshua Fields is also a Golden Spikes semifinalist and was voted the SEC Pitcher of the Year. On Wednesday, he was named Stopper of the Year by the NCBWA. Perno completed the Bulldogs' sweep of the top awards by winning the SEC Coach of the Year award.

North Carolina State Wolfpack

Raleigh, North Carolina

At-large bid from ACC, 3-0 in Raleigh Regional

2008 record: 18-11, 38-20 (second in ACC Atlantic)

Head coach: Elliott Avent (VCU, 1984)

Record at school: 454-278, 12 years

Overall record: 679-491, 20 years

Assistant coaches: Tom Holliday, Chris Hart, Brian Ward

Team offense: .302 BA, 414 R, 61 HR, .461 SLG%, .392 OB%, 54/76 SB

Team pitching: 3.36 ERA, 532.2 IP, 469 H, 206 BB, 494 K

Top hitters: Ryan Pond (.332/8/45/16 2B), Pat Ferguson (.327/9/39/10 2B), Marcus Jones (.327/7/48/12-13 SB), Matt Payne (.319/9/47), Jeremy Synan (.306/6/39), Tommy Foschi (.293/1/26/18 2B), Dallas Poulk (.284/7/32/10 2B)

Top pitchers: Jimmy Gillheeney (2-0, 10 SV, 1.12, 32 IP, 24 H, 12 BB, 42 K), Clayton Shunick (7-5, 2.16, 95.2 IP, 77 H, 23 BB, 108 K), Jake Buchanan (2-2, 3 SV, 3.11, 55 IP, 37 H, 13 BB, 39 K), Alex Sogard (4-2, 4.21, 47 IP, 42 H, 25 BB, 33 K), Eric Surkamp (5-2, 4.39, 69.2 IP, 72 H, 34 BB, 82 K), Eryk McConnell (4-2, 1 SV, 5.07, 49.2 IP, 59 H, 18 BB, 25 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2007 (1-2 in Columbia, S.C., Regional)

Notes: The Wolfpack reached the postseason for the sixth straight year and ninth time under coach Elliott Avent. Its only Super Regional appearance came in a 2003 loss to Miami. State swept through the Raleigh Regional with pitching and timely hitting, edging high-octane South Carolina in two one-run games. That’s nothing new for the Pack - 31 of their games have been decided by three or fewer runs (14-17). The Super Regional round pits two former CollegeBaseballInsider.com coach of the year winners in Avent and Georgia’s David Perno. Associate head coach Tom Holliday has been to 15 College World Series as a player and coach. He’s been in charge of a pitching staff that limits opponents to a .237 average, led by starter Clayton Shunick (.215) and relievers Jimmy Gillheeney (.209/10 saves) and Jake Buchanan (.191). Shunick’s K/BB ratio is nearly 5 to 1. Buchanan, a freshman, went 26-2 with 280 strikeouts his final two years of high school. Leading hitter Ryan Pond hit .326 a year ago and is at .332 this year - he threw for more than 6,700 yards as a QB in high school. Sophomore Dallas Poulk was a first-team freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball after hitting .394 last year. Matt Payne hit .462 in the regional was joined on the all-region team by Shunick and Poulk. Freshman Russell Wilson (.288) is on scholarship as a quarterback on State’s football team.