Athens — You wouldn't call what Gordon Beckham is in a slump. It's more like an identity crisIs.

Georgia's star shortstop, who has received just about every postseason award imaginable in the last week, earned a national reputation this season for being massively productive, especially in clutch situations. But that productivity has dried up to a trickle late in the season, a trend that continued in the Bulldogs' 10-7 loss to Lipscomb in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday.

Beckham went 1-for-5 with an RBI single, but he stranded three runners, and the one he drove home in the eighth inning came when the Dogs needed a three-run homer.

That continued a trend that started a month ago when Beckham's batting average peaked at .437. In the past 15 games he has only two multiple-hit games and two home runs. Still, the Golden Spikes Award finalist heads into Saturday's game hitting .390 with 23 homers and 58 RBI.

"Obviously I'm frustrated with my performance," said Beckham, who has four extra-base hits in the month of May. "I feel good [swinging] in the cages. I guess I'm probably not swinging at the right pitches."

After meeting with reporters following the 10-7 loss, Beckham had an extended one-on-one conversation with coach David Perno in a tunnel underneath the grandstands at Foley Field.

"I'm just eager to get back out there and help my teammates more than I did today," Beckham said.

No rematch, no problem

Most observers expected a rematch of Georgia and Georgia Tech — for the fourth time this season — in the second round of this regional, and the rivals may meet before it's over. But that was the last thing on the Yellow Jackets' minds following their 8-5 victory over Louisville.

"We said that before we came here: There's no guarantees who you're going to play," Tech coach Danny Hall said. "It's win and move on. We're focusing on nothing but Lipscomb."

Tech faces Lipscomb in the winner's bracket game at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Hot Haniger

Tech catcher Jason Haniger started just three games a week during the regular season while sharing the position with Cole Leonida, but he hasn't been sitting during the postseason.

That might be because he's hitting .415 with 5 home runs and 6 doubles in the Jackets' past 15 games. He was at it again Friday as he went 3-for-4 with a homer, three runs and two RBI.

Losers bracket

The last time Georgia lost a first-round game in the NCAA tournament was when it hosted a regional in 2001. The Bulldogs fell to Georgia Southern 4-3 before coming back to beat Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina (twice) to win the regional. They eventually made it to the College World Series.

"We're up for it," said Perno, who was an assistant coach for Ron Polk on that team. "Everybody talks about [Jeff] Keppinger that year, but we had some great pitching and a lot of other people step up. It's a team thing, and it's going to take everybody."

White-shoes flashback

No, that wasn't a replay of a 1970s baseball classic on your television set. Lipscomb was wearing white shoes. And the Bison will continue to wear them.

"They wanted to wear them all year, but I wouldn't let them," Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand said. "We made a deal. I told them if we made it to a regional we'd wear them. I guess we'll keep wearing them."

Tech tidbits

With its win over Louisville, the Yellow Jackets (40-19) have secured 40 wins in a season for the eighth time in the past nine years and the 12th time overall under coach Danny Hall. ... It was Tech's first postseason win in three games at Foley Field. ... Louisville and Tech were meeting in baseball for the first time since the 1977 Metro Conference Tournament.