Bulldogs at full strength for regionals


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/29/08

Athens — There were a few days last week when Georgia's Gordon Beckham didn't know what to expect when he looked at the lineup card.

Rich Poythress, the bat who had protected his, was down with a wrist injury. Matt Cerione, the hottest bat at the bottom of the lineup, also was gone because of a concussion. And ace starter Trevor Holder was out with shoulder pain. Now they are all back for Friday's regional in Athens featuring Georgia, Ga. Tech, Louisville and Lipscomb. The winner of the double-elimination tournament will advance to next week's super regional.

Rich Addicks/AJC
Georgia's ace starter Trevor Holder has been sidelined with shoulder pain.
 
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SCHEDULE
No. 1 Georgia (35-21-1)
vs. No. 4 Lipscomb (32-28)
-- 3 p.m. Friday
No. 2 Georgia Tech (39-19) vs. No. 3 Louisville (41-19) -- 7 p.m., Friday
Championship Bracket (PDF)
RELATED STORIES        • More UGA coverage

"Getting those guys back is huge," said Beckham, Georgia's shortstop. "But it doesn't mean anything if we don't go out there and play like we know we are capable of."

Georgia, largely because it hasn't had those players, has not played well recently. The Bulldogs dropped four of their last five and nearly didn't receive a national seed.

But the players said they are now healthy and focused.

"A lot of our guys were tired and the tough schedule throughout the year wore us out," said closer Josh Fields. "But since the (SEC) tournament we have had a week of practice to cool us down and get our feet back under us. I think we are fresh and I think we are ready to get after it tomorrow with some confidence and with some energy to. I just felt like we were a little dead at the end of the season. We were more or less just going through the motions. I feel like we are going to bring some energy to the field tomorrow."

Scouting Lipscomb

Actually Georgia hasn't scouted Lipscomb. Nor have they scouted the other two teams. Turns out, the Bulldogs do very little scouting in the regular or postseason.

"We know who they are throwing but I haven't looked at their stats," Beckham said. "I have no idea what he throws. We haven't done that all year. The coaches tell us a little something every once in a while."

But some even choose to turn a deaf ear to that.

"I think looking at guys' numbers, especially if they have gaudy numbers I think it could freak some of the guys out," Fields said. "Personally I don't like to know what anybody is doing. I don't want to know what anybody is hitting, how many home runs how many RBIs or anything. I just like to go up there and throw."

David Duncan, Tech's starter, will scout some of Louisville's player before he takes the mound. Duncan said he has gone through some tape and was set to look at the rest of it Thursday night.

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