June brings the beginning of summer, the end of the college baseball season, and academic news about the incoming football recruiting class. Fortunately the news is almost as good as it could be for Georgia. Here’s a summary of what’s going on with the recruiting class:

• Most of the qualified freshmen are already on campus, enrolled in summer classes, and participating in summer workouts.
• An exception was Fork Union LB Marcus Dowtin. Dowtin is a good student but had some transcript issues which delayed his enrollment. UGASports.com reported this week that those issues are cleared up, and Dowtin’s father says that "Marcus will be moving to Georgia July 1."
• Tavarres King, Richard Samuel, Dontavius Jackson, and Ben Jones enrolled for spring semester.
• As expected, Xavier Avery chose professional baseball over college football.
• DE Toby Jackson remains the lone academic concern. Cordy Glenn and A.J. Green were considered academic risks at one point or another, but both of them are already in Athens and good to go. Jackson isn’t sunk yet; he took the ACT only a couple of weeks ago and is waiting on those results.

All in all, it looks as if the class will be more or less intact. That’s good news because several could see playing time this year. Walsh, Jones, Samuel, and Green are almost certain to get a look in preseason, and fall camp will offer several others the opportunity to play as true freshmen. Tripp Chandler reminds us though that two-a-days can be quick to humble even the highest-profile newcomer. "Things change when you go from running a route when people can’t hit you to when people can hit you."

Earlier this morning, Steve Detwiler’s thumb was removed by surgeons in Omaha and replaced with a prosthetic. The thumb is currently en route to Lubbock, Texas where it will be featured next to the monument already in place at the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

We’ve seen individuals break Georgia’s heart before. Dan Marino. Mark Prior. Ronnie Daniels is still running. And of course there’s John Wallace.

But few have had such a dominant individual performance against a Georgia team with so much on the line as Fresno State’s right fielder Steve Detwiler. Fresno posted six runs against Georgia, and every single one of them was knocked in by Detwiler. His performance was so incredible and so unlikely that it overshadows a clutch pitching job by Justin Wilson. Under any other circumstances, the ability of Wilson to come off of three days’ rest and contain a Georgia offense that had scored 17 runs in two previous games would have been the story of the night.

Congratulations to Fresno State. A team that beat Long Beach, San Diego, Arizona State, Rice, North Carolina, and Georgia to get to this point is as legitimate as a champion gets.

There’s no use breaking down the game. The season is over, and the second-best season in Georgia baseball history deserves the focus now. This team rebounded from a rough early stretch to win the SEC, end Georgia Tech’s season, take the season series over Tech yet again, and roll to the program’s best postseason finish since 1990. There was individual excellence and key role players. There were dominant performances and clutch comebacks.

If history is any indication, the good news was that this title run probably won’t be a one-shot deal. Georgia baseball is competitive nationally and has been that way for most of this decade. The personnel losses will be significant just as they have been after each of Georgia’s three previous trips to Omaha since 2001. Recruiting is strong, and coaching is solid, so the safe bet is for Georgia to be back in this position sooner than later.

The immediate challenge for Coach Perno is to smooth out the valleys. A return trip to the NCAA Tournament, even as a lower at-large seed, is what we’re talking about here. With guys like Poythress, Cerione, Allen, McRee, and Weaver due to come back, a strong an experienced core is there. Georgia must replace not only gloves and bats but leaders also, and finding the guys who will challenge their teammates to demand better of themselves as Ryan Peisel did earlier this season will be as important as finding a new leadoff man or closer.

If there’s any kind of silver lining in the constant attention to the "Cinderella" storyline this week, it’s this realization: Georgia teams are expected to play for titles. Georgia being in Omaha is dog-bites-man. Situations where we are the great underdog story are rare (see: men’s basketball), but that’s what happens when you have one of the nation’s strongest athletic programs. After Hawaii and Fresno you might be getting a bit tired of being the foil to the media darling, but remember that the story of the underdog is great because it is the exception. This loss stings, but Georgia teams will be back competing for titles in just a few months.

Senior guard Billy Humphrey was arrested in Gwinnett County and was charged with, among other things, DUI because he is underage and a breathalyzer showed a trace amount of alcohol (0.02).

Note that this is Humphrey’s second alcohol-related incident within the past year. He avoided suspension after that incident and an earlier weapons charge, but the University’s alcohol policy will now come down hard on Humphrey.

It’s very likely that Humphrey will miss fall semester, and who knows what that would do to his status with the Georgia basketball program. With the status of the starting shooting guard now up in the air, Dennis Felton’s chances of building on the SEC Tournament championship have been dealt a significant blow.

What can you say about a 19-10 loss? Georgia had the momentum, the pitching matchup they wanted, and even a 5-0 lead, and it vanished in an inning. Within the span of three innings, Fresno State scored 15 runs and made Georgia fans put away the champagne and start biting fingernails.

Georgia’s been in this position before during this tournament. They won the first game of the Super Regional, but N.C. State struck back against Georgia pitching to take Game 2 going away. Georgia bounced right back in Sunday’s game with a 9-run first inning. They’ll need that kind of resiliency against a Fresno State team that has proved to be no fluke and every bit the team that sent some very good clubs packing earlier in the tournament.

Simply put, the championship comes down to Georgia’s pitching. Georgia has plated 17 runs in two games against Fresno. Though Fresno will be able to start a regular starter in tonight’s game, so will Georgia. The Dawgs have hit Fresno’s better pitchers during this round, and there’s no reason to doubt their ability to score a fair amount of runs.

The question then lies with some experienced Georgia pitchers. Moreau. Weaver. McRee. Fields. Georgia doesn’t exactly have to piece together a staff tonight if the guys they send out there can give a decent performance.

You’ll hear all day that Fresno has taken momentum, and the Cinderella talk will be in overdrive (do we need to come up with a drinking game for this?). Forget that. Georgia is throwing Moreau, an experienced Sunday starter. The same toughness that has been with this team from Arkansas through the regional and Super Regional and in three comeback wins already in Omaha is still there. Georgia has come too far to let one setback sink them, and I think we’ll see a fired up and focused Georgia team ready to bring a title home.

Some rough weather around Omaha today. Still officially only a 30% chance of rain this evening, but it’s pretty soggy just outside of town this afternoon.

You can’t really blame ESPN for dwelling on Fresno’s underdog status (though we know they were preseason top-20, won their conference and made the NCAA Tournament three years in a row, etc., etc.). They would be the lowest-seeded NCAA champion (had you heard that?), and it’s a compelling story. ESPN has to sell the game to impartial viewers who don’t give a damn about Georgia or Fresno State. Offering the opportunity to watch history sells. Fresno may or may not rank up there with 1985 Villanova or the 1980 U.S. hockey team, but you have to push a story if you want someone other than Fresno and Georgia fans to watch the game.

That said, those of us who have watched more than a few games of this CWS can probably recite word-for-word what we’ll hear from the booth tonight:

• Did you know Gordon Beckham made the final out for Georgia in the 2006 CWS? Me neither.
• Hey – how about that Fresno player with the busted ligament. He’s playing anyway! And what’s with that guy’s wierd batting grip?
• The ball leaves the pitcher’s hand in the light, but it arrives at the batter in the shadows. That’s just wacky.
• One more shot of the Massinari cheering section, please.
• Brainwashed by endless Coke Zero ads, Georgia will be suing for "dawg infringement." And driving away in a VW.
• Here’s an obscure referece to a pro player from 15 years ago. That kid really reminds Orel of Kevin Seitzer. I was just going to say the same thing.
• Fresno’s tough. Like their coach. Like a steak at Ryan’s. Like facing Josh Fields.
• The last couple of champions haven’t been a national seed. And whaddayouknow…here we have an unseeded team.
• No, seriously…back to the Massinaris. I hear the kid looks like Miss Nevada or something.
• Georgia is apparently the third team Matt Cerione has played for during this CWS.
• I mean Fresno’s just a bunch of gamers. A team of utility players. It would be like having a football team of Jacob Hesters.
• David Perno – who played for the 1990 national champion, by the way – got his team’s attention in the offseason by making them haul rocks from a local quarry to build the new Vince Dooley statue on campus.
• We’ll now have someone who spent the first week talking about ice cream interview the most brilliant financial manager in the world.
• Is comparing Fresno to the Bad News Bears really telling the story? Don’t we really have to ask if this compares with David facing the Philistine?

…and most of them are going pro in something other than sports.

UPDATE: And who can forget all-important updates about photos of Big Brown’s loose horseshoe (quick! get Zapruder on the case!) or Shaq’s scathing freestyle rap?

You’ll notice that the live blog stops abuptly during the 4th inning. I was reminded that the championship is no time to start screwing around with the routine that had taken us this far.

So, anyway, what a game. What a comeback. It’s what we’re used to from this team – Georgia had to come from behind against Miami and Stanford – but it’s still amazing every time they get back off the mat. In Monday’s game, they broke through against the best pitcher they had seen all evening after struggling to scratch out runs against guys with ERAs north of 6.75.

Two plays before the pivotal bottom of the 8th stand out as game-changers:

• Lyle Allen’s catch. Otis Nixon was reached for comment and said, "daaaaaaamn." Between that catch and the one at Turner Field, Allen has stepped nicely into the "did you SEE that catch?!" void left by Joey Side. Allen’s leaping catch in the 4th saved a run, and we know how important a single run proved to be.
• Steve Susdorf getting doubled off of second. Susdorf doubled in Fresno’s first run of the 8th, but he was caught leaning towards third on a line drive hit to Gordon Beckham. Beckham won the race to the bag. It looked as if Susdorf was bailed out after Fresno tacked on two more runs, but that out had two big implications. First, the subsequent home run plated only one run instead of two. Second, the out and the batter order meant that Susdorf – with a double and triple to his credit already – was left in the on-deck circle in the 9th.

The little things got Georgia in trouble. Leadoff walks. Big hits by the bottom of Fresno’s order. Even Georgia’s offense was so close. The Dawgs hit the ball hard, but great Fresno defense kept them in the game. Those hits fell in the 8th. Olson’s bloop started it, Cerione found the right side of the foul line, and Lewis played pinball with second base to drive in the winning run.

Fresno lost a heartbreaker, but you can’t expect them to fold. They lost a game this way to UNC on Saturday and bounced back nicely. Still, the stress of another elimination game coupled with their depleted pitching staff has to weigh on them. For Georgia the win couldn’t have been better. It gave them a huge shot in the arm, but the game served notice that they can’t relax and take anything as a given against a quality opponent. Postgame comments seemed to show that Georgia was well aware that nothing was settled yet.

The first few innings could be huge tonight. If Georgia can keep the fire going and score some runs against some tired pitching, they’ll be set up very nicely with Montgomery on the mound. On the other hand, a close game will only serve to restore Fresno’s confidence.

Let’s get this going. First pitch is in a few minutes, and we’ll try to be here for the duration.

6:59: First, a note from Anthony Dasher over on the DawgVent… it’s good to know that Mark Richt will be there to support the team. We’ve seen Roy Williams and Fresno’s Pat Hill.

7:01: Our cat is curled up next to me on the couch. Before you write this off as meaningless, she’s been in this position for most of the postseason games, and she first started watching games with us during the SEC basketball tournament. Yep. Things are looking good for the Dawgs.

7:06: No question how ESPN is setting the narrative for this series. Fresno’s story is a good one, but, again…they were ranked coming into the season.

7:09: Dave Perno: “We’re in great shape with our pitching and just need to execute.” Fresno coach: “We had a handful of (pitchers) who just can’t go today.”

7:12: And we’re off. Bulova first pitch time, 7:12. GO DAWGS!!!!

7:20: A leadoff walk doesn’t cost the Dawgs; Holder strikes out two to strand a Fresno runner at third. Close call at first on the second out. Was Poythress off the bag?

7:30: Dawgs draw first blood! A hustle play on a leadoff hit by Peisel pays off as he scores from second on a Poythress single. Georgia was a strike away from wasting the leadoff double, but Poythress continues his clutch hitting from Saturday. Georgia 1 – Fresno 0 after 1.

7:37: Another leadoff runner stranded in scoring position by Fresno. Holder gets through the second with far fewer pitches.

7:42: Fresno’s defense showed up tonight. Heck of a play by the 3B. Cerione hit one to the fence…missed by a few feet. Georgia 1 – Fresno 0 after 2.

7:45: Fresno #9 batter hitting under .200 launches one to tie the game. Holder’s weakness against NC State and Miami was homers off of pitches left up, and hopefully that’s the last one of those tonight. Holder bounces back with a tough play to throw out the next batter. The ball hit off Holder’s right foot, and he’s trying to work it out. Dodson is stretching in the pen.

7:54: Holder stays in the game and retires the rest of the side including his second K of Fresno’s #2 hitter.

7:57: Fresno is a bunch of “gamers”. They’re talking about Fresno as if they were a white running back. Really heady, gritty guys. I haven’t heard them called “throwbacks” yet, but it’s coming.

7:59: Three solid defensive plays retire Georgia in order. The Dawgs are hitting the ball hard, but Fresno is bringing the defense. Holder will remain out there for Georgia. Georgia 1 – Fresno 1 after 3.

8:02: Lyle Allen might have stolen a HR. What a catch up high against the fence.

8:05: Holder retires the side in order after the leadoff scare. Georgia needs to start making the Fresno pitcher work and make them burn a few pitchers. Beckham’s leading off, and this is a great chance to make his impact on the CWS.

The college road trip is a right of passage, and some writers for the Red and Black have taken to the highways to watch the Diamond Dawgs in Omaha.

Highlights:

11:23- Tyler: Is it blog worthy if I run down this Tennessee fan in front of us ?Me: sure it is, I was thinking the same thing. Although, weren’t you a Tennessee fan growing up? Tyler (regretfully): Yes

Side note- Tyler LOVES pretzel sticks, they are apparently really good with beer. Since I’m not 21 and have never drank underage, I wouldn’t know.

12:21: Tyler once again points out the mind-blowing realization that we are driving to Nebraska. Damn, 1,043 miles is a long way. My over/under for someone saying that we are driving to Nebraska is five, and we already at two.

4:39: Mile 434.2. Insanity may finally be broached, as we all join in a terrifically harmonized and falsettoed rendition of “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” (you know, that commercial from the 70s). And then we, of course, each enjoy a Coke. And keep it company. In perfect harmony.

6:41: Chumbawumba’s “Tubthumping” raises morale.

Highly recommended. I hope they keep it up and make it to Omaha.

I’m going to try liveblogging tonight’s game. Someone has to keep track of the number of times they show Lauren Massinari or tell us that Fresno State was a #4 seed in their regional. I doubt they mention that Fresno was a preseason top 20 team.

Title IX is 36 years old today. For some football fans, it’s the law that is the root of all that’s wrong with the world. But without it, the Georgia campus probably never would have been graced with Teresa Edwards, the Gym Dogs, Kristy Kowal, or any of the other outstanding female student-athletes we’ve known.

The law itself is pretty simple:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

The current landscape of intercollegiate athletics is, for better or worse, built on the sturdy shoulders of that law. Various judicial and executive interpretations have combined to give us the current guidelines, and it’s still very much a politically active topic. Teams and scholarships have had to be added, removed, and balanced in this modern nod to the Missouri Compromise. Though the opportunites opened for women have been tremendous, Title IX hasn’t come without its costs or friction.

It’s interesting to read that "NCAA President Myles Brand (suggested) that unisex teams could be the wave of the future for intercollegiate athletics." You’re starting to see more and more of this measuring against the men, and we’re not just talking about Michelle Wie. The WNBA’s Atlanta Dream is running an ad in which a young girl in a playground game shows she belongs by throwing an elbow at a male opponent. But when it’s still big news that a 6’4" woman can dunk a basketball, the idea of unisex teams still seems a little ridiculous, doesn’t it?

Yes, it is Dawg vs. Dog. The College World Series has gone to the dogs.

With that out of the way, we now know that it’s Georgia vs. Fresno State for all the marbles at the College World Series. Fresno State has definitely had a tremendous run, and the fact that they were a #4 seed in the regional makes the “underdog” label applicable.

You’ll hear no end to the George Mason comparisons, but that’s hardly fair to a Fresno State squad very familiar with postseason play. The Bulldogs have won three straight WAC titles and are in their third straight NCAA Tournament (a claim even Georgia cannot make).

Let’s get it out of the way: Georgia looks to have everything on their side. They’ve had the better season against stronger competition. They are hitting well against good pitching. Their rotation is set up perfectly for the best-of-three series after copious amounts of rest over the past week. Our own Bulldogs are a great story in their own right. They have come off a losing season to play for the national title. For some, it’s a chance at redemption for a missed opportunity in 2006.

But Fresno has beaten some pretty big odds just to get to this point, and they probably won’t blink twice at Georgia’s advantages. Fresno State has solid, fundamental defense, timely hitting, and they have had some great pitching in Omaha, though it’s yet to be seen how much is left as they play their third game in as many days on Monday.

So, yes, the Bulldogs will win the national title. Will it be Fresno’s first or Georgia’s second national title? Monday’s first game will be critical, and Georgia has to feel pretty good handing the ball to Trevor Holder.

Here is the finals schedule:
Monday, June 23
Game 1 — Fresno State (45-30) vs. No. 8 Georgia (44-23-1), 7 p.m., (ESPN2/ESPN360)

Tuesday, June 24
Game 2 — No. 8 Georgia (44-23-1) vs. Fresno State (45-30), 7 p.m., (ESPN/ESPN360)

Wednesday, June 25
Game 3 — No. 8 Georgia (44-23-1) vs. Fresno State (45-30) (if nec.), 7 p.m., (ESPN/ESPN360)

With the Diamond Dawgs now facing as many as five games over as many days, coach David Perno has named veteran Nathan Moreau the starter on Saturday, replacing scheduled starter Trevor Holder. Moreau is the only regular weekend starter without a mound appearance so far in Omaha, and his last start was a rough one in the Super Regional loss to N.C. State.

Moreau is more than capable of getting the job done. We’ll likely see several pitchers on Saturday though as Moreau is a 5 or 6 inning kind of pitcher. Ideally we’d see something like Moreau for six innings, turn it over to McCree for two, and then let Fields finish things. Of course Stanford will have a lot to say about that.

The move gives Perno the option of using Holder either in Sunday’s decisive game with Stanford (if necessary) or in Monday’s opening game of the championship round. Everyone is available and rested at this point – the difficulty is positioning the staff for the next 2-5 games. Again, it would be huge if Georgia can win on Saturday. You could then start Holder in Game 1 of the championship round and have Dodson, Montgomery, and Moreau available down the road (not to mention all of the relievers). If Georgia has to play on Sunday and use Holder (and perhaps Dodson/Montgomery), then the pitching situation becomes a lot more cloudy.

Oh…and props to Ryan Peisel for the “Shining” reference. All rest and no play in this case…

Rain hit the Omaha area Thursday night, forcing the postponement of the loser’s bracket game between LSU and North Carolina. The UNC-LSU game will resume at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday.

The shuffled schedule means that Stanford and Georgia will not play until Saturday at 2 p.m. ET (ESPN2) If Stanford beats Georgia on Saturday, the two teams would play again on Sunday.

Basically, everything is pushed back a day.

Why is this less-than-good news? Two reasons. First, it gives Stanford another day to rest. The historical disadvantage of the loser’s bracket was quick turnaround. Now any pitcher Stanford used on Monday against Georgia should be just fine for Saturday’s game, and it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Stanford could call on a pitcher used Wednesday.

Second is looking ahead a bit to the potential championship round. If Georgia must play on Sunday, they are looking at no fewer than four straight days of action should they prevail over Stanford. Saturday’s game now becomes extremely significant. Win on Saturday and Georgia can rest on Sunday while their championship opponent might have to play on Sunday. Lose on Saturday and brace yourselves for some pretty interesting personnel decisions. Getting through Stanford is of course the priority, but you also don’t want to arrive at Monday’s championship game with nothing in the tank.

It’s looking a bit like 1990 – Georgia and Stanford will meet with a trip to the College World Series championship round at stake. The Cardinal looked really, really tough dispatching #1 and top-seeded Miami 8-3 last night. Dominant Stanford pitching got out of early trouble and kept the potent Miami offense at bay until the Stanford offense with eight runs from the third through sixth innings.

Monday night showed us how hard the Dawgs will have to work to advance, but they do have the advantage of needing just one win while the Cardinal would have to beat the Bulldogs twice. It took that extra rubber match for the Dawgs to advance in 1990, but hopefully they can take care of things on Friday and rest up for Monday’s championship opener. The challenge will be on Georgia’s bats to create some runs against Stanford’s formidable pitching and defense.

Trevor Holder, who started Saturday’s first game against Miami, will get the nod again on Friday.

Georgia vs. Stanford: Friday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2

An updated summer depth chart is out, and there are definitely some things worth noting.

Just be careful of reading too much into those “official” heights and weights…

“I don’t think it’s a big deal,” (Beasley) said of being measured at 6 feet 7 inches, three inches shorter than his listed height at Kansas State. “Other than it’s a little disappointing to me that I found out I’m actually a midget.”