Georgia Tech, UGA start runs toward College World Series. Here’s what to know.

Georgia Tech and Georgia are riding the wave of historic seasons as they head into the NCAA Tournament as two of the top three baseball teams in the country. Both teams won their respective regular-season conference titles, followed by their conference tournaments.

But both teams have had their struggles after getting to the NCAA Tournament.

For the Yellow Jackets (48-9), who won their 10th ACC Tournament championship, it’s a prime opportunity to get past the regional round for the first time since 2006. They’re the No. 2 overall seed and hosting the Atlanta Regional, which begins Friday afternoon.

Tech has the nation’s best offense, leading in batting average, on-base percentage and runs scored per game. They’ve racked up a 14-3 record against ranked opponents this season, including drubbing North Carolina in the ACC Tournament final.

For Georgia (46-12), the regular-season title is its first since 2008 and the SEC Tournament championship is the first in program history. That combo garnered a No. 3 overall seed, along with hosting the Athens Regional beginning Friday.

The Bulldogs lead a group of 12 SEC teams in the field.

How does the NCAA Tournament work?

After regular-season play, 64 teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament, and those teams were split into 16 regionals with four teams each. The top 16 teams host a regional — as Georgia Tech and Georgia are doing — and each grouping is seeded one through four.

Each regional is double-elimination, meaning a team needs two losses before it’s out. In the opening games, the No. 1 seed faces No. 4 and second versus third. The losing teams play, then the winning teams, and then they’re cross-matched until all but one team has two losses.

The 16 regional winners advance in the bracket to the super regionals (June 5-8), where they play a best-of-three series, head-to-head against one team. From those, eight teams advance to the College World Series (June 12-22) in Omaha, Nebraska.

Who’s in Georgia Tech’s regional?

The Yellow Jackets are the favorite to win the regional, but Oklahoma (32-21) has good pitching, which could challenge the other teams. The Citadel (35-24) and Illinois Chicago (27-27-1) round out the bracket.

Here’s the schedule for the Atlanta Regional:

FRIDAY

Game 1: Georgia Tech vs. Illinois Chicago, noon (ACC)

Game 2: The Citadel vs. Oklahoma, 5 p.m. (ESPN+)

SATURDAY

Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 1 p.m.

Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 6 p.m.

SUNDAY

Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 1 p.m.

Game 6: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4, 6 p.m.

MONDAY

Game 7: If necessary, time TBA

The winner of the Atlanta Regional faces the winner of the Lawrence Regional, hosted by Kansas.

Who’s in Georgia’s regional?

The four-team regional has the Bulldogs as the No. 1 seed, opening against Long Island (30-20) at 7 p.m. Friday. The other teams are Liberty (41-19), Boston College (36-21), who play Friday at 2 p.m.

Here’s the schedule for the Athens Regional:

FRIDAY

Game 1: Liberty vs. Boston College, 2 p.m. (ESPN+)

Game 2: Georgia vs. Long Island, 7 p.m. (SEC)

SATURDAY

Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, noon

Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 5 p.m.

SUNDAY