Texas Baseball Falls Into Losers Bracket After Sloppy MCWS Opener

Defensive lapses forfeited what turned out to be a strong pitching outing for the Texas Longhorns as their opener in the Men's College World Series ends in a 7-1 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday night in Omaha.

After a weather-induced delayed start, No. 6-seed Texas had three costly errors that allowed the 3-seeded Dawgs to build an early lead off All-American lefty Dylan Volantis. Texas never had the offense to get back into the game.

Georgia scored just two earned runs off of Volantis, who went into the seventh inning and is credited with his second loss of the season.

At the plate, the Horns were outhit 5-4. The lone sign of offense on the scoreboard came from an RBI single by Ethan Mendoza. Adrian Rodriguez and Mendoza both had two hits apiece in the middle of the lineup.

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The Bulldogs started the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. That's when the defense began to waver for Texas.

Kolby Branch struck out swinging, but reached base on a wild pitch. He advanced on a throwing error by Longhorns catcher Carson Tinney, which ultimately brought home two unearned runs.

The game then turned into a pitcher's duel. Volantis would retire 16 of the next 18 batters after the first inning, while Georgia starter Joey Volchko turned in a complete game, going all nine innings and allowing five hits and one run. His 15 strikeouts set a Georgia record in the MCWS.

The Bulldogs, who won the SEC this year over runner-up Texas, have relied on their defense throughout this season. Saturday was the 31st time Georgia held its opponent to fewer than 3 runs in a game, as the Bulldogs improved to 52-12 (tied for a school record in wins).

"I felt like there were two stories to that game," said Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle. "Number one, Volchko was awesome. Didn't walk a guy until the ninth inning, threw endless amount of strikes ... I thought he was super professional, and was outstanding.

"The other story of the game is, from a defensive standpoint, that's the worst game we've played the whole season, which is super disappointing on our end. That's a very bad taste in our mouth and we're certainly looking forward to a good day of practice tomorrow and getting back on the field on Monday to play better baseball."

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The Longhorns now face a tougher task than expected in the losers' bracket.

Unseeded Oklahoma shutout No. 7 Alabama in the game before Texas' at Charles Schwab Field.

The Longhorns face the Crimson Tide in an elimination at 1 p.m. CT on Monday, June 15.