ATHENS — Georgia opens the 2019 NCAA Tournament Friday against Mercer hoping for a better outcome than in 2018 when the Dogs were stunned by Duke in two-elimination games for the Blue Devils at Foley Field.
That Regional loss marked the first time in program history the Bulldogs had not advanced out of a Regional in Athens. They had won the previous four Regionals they had hosted.
It will be a tough regional with perennial playoff team Florida State, Mercer, and Florida Atlantic. The Seminoles are making their 42nd consecutive appearance and opened Friday’s regional with a 13-7 win over Florida Atlantic behind a 20-hit attack, including six home runs.
Georgia faces a Mercer team that has had plenty of success beating the Bulldogs over the years. In the two teams’ last meeting, Mercer swept Georgia in a home-and-home series in 2017. The Bears are 5-1 against Georgia in the last six meetings overall since 2015.
Georgia will start Tony Locey (10-2, 2.68 ERA, 84IP, 48H 90K) while Mercer will send Tanner Hall (8-5, 4.67 ERA, 81IP, 79H, 66K) to the hill.
Former Buford teammates Kevin Coulter (Mercer) and Justin Glover (UGA) could face off if the game ends up a battle of bullpens. Coulter is 5-3 with a 3.95 ERA in 82 innings. He has allowed 103 hits while fanning 65. Glover is having a breakout year for the Bulldogs. Glover is leading the team in appearances (24) with a 2.67 ERA in 27 innings out of the bullpen. He has yielded just 14 hits and 13 walks while striking out 27. He had just 18 total appearances in his first two seasons in Athens.
NOTES: The Bears have never won a regional opener (0-3) in three previous appearances and are just 1-6 all-time in the NCAA tournament. Their only win came over Elon in 2010 in the Atlanta Regional. ... Georgia, meanwhile, is 50-32 all-time in the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs are 4-3 against FSU but have never faced FAU or Mercer in the postseason. ... FSU is 39-27 vs. the Bulldogs all-time but Georgia took a 2-1 series win in their meeting in 2015 at Foley Field. ... This year’s Bulldogs are 16-12 vs. the 64-team NCAA field against 12 opponents. The Seminoles went 10-9 against 7 teams in the NCAA field. Mercer was just 4-7 vs. 4 teams in the field.
