Omaha, Neb. — They've manned the same seats in the left field bleachers since they arrived in Omaha 11 days, four hotels and a hundred hands of blackjack ago. The trip to the College World Series was one final chance to celebrate their graduation from Georgia, support their team and make one last road trip before the reality of life sets in.

"It's been a great trip," said Stephen Morgan of Vienna, who graduated last month with a degree in biology and is preparing to enter medical school this fall.

Morgan and his friend, John McMichael of Newnan, planned the trip on the spur of the moment after Georgia won its super regional. McMichael had just graduated with an economics degree. They recruited buddy Blake Bartholomew and McMichael's little brother, Colson, who recently graduated from Newnan High, to help cut expenses. And it helped that Colson's Toyota 4Runner got the best gas mileage.

They drove the 1,080 miles in 18 hours. They started out in a hotel in Lincoln, but moved closer to town as teams lost and room rates began to drop.

They arrived at Rosenblatt Stadium at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, seven hours before the first pitch. And after enduring their team's 19-10 loss to Fresno State on Tuesday, this foursome was taking no chances. They were listening to the same music, taking the same paths and wearing the same clothes, just in case there was any good luck to be squeezed out of them.

Lineup switch

Georgia made a lineup switch for the championship game, starting Joey Lewis at catcher for the first time in the College World Series and moving Bryce Massanari to designated hitter.

The last time Lewis started behind the plate was in the second game of the super regional against N.C. State. Massanari started the first five games in the CWS.

Georgia coach David Perno mentioned after Tuesday's loss that Massanari had not been "bringing energy" to the position of late.

Lewis, a sophomore from Fayetteville, entered the final game hitting .438 in the CWS with seven RBIs. Massanari, a junior from Las Vegas, is batting .167 with no RBIs.

Entering the CWS, Massanari had appeared in 31 games at catcher and 28 at designated hitter, and Lewis had been in 32 games at catcher and 18 as DH.

School record

The championship game was the 71st of the season for Georgia, which tied a school record for the most played. Gordon Beckham, Ryan Peisel and Matt Olson have started each game, tying them with three members of the 1990 championship team.

This year's team has set single-season records for hits, innings pitched and strikeouts. They'll finish second in home runs, runs, RBIs and fielding percentage.