OMAHA, Neb. – The Bulldog arms quieted the Longhorn bats.
Dylan Vigue and Justin Byrd combined on a four-hit shutout as No. 3 Georgia edged No. 6 Texas 2-0 in front of 24,324 fans on Tuesday evening in Game 10 of the 2026 College World Series at Charles Schwab Field.
The Bulldogs (53-13) advanced to face Oklahoma on Wednesday, June 17, at 6 p.m. CT. UGA will have to beat OU twice to reach the CWS Championship Series. The Longhorns concluded their season with a 46-15 record.
“I thought it was a really good game tonight,” UGA head coach Wes Johnson said. “Very entertaining. It was going to be tough to score, the conditions, the flags blowing in like they were. There were some balls hit really hard that I don’t know if they even got to the track. So you felt like it was going to be a pitching duel.”
Pitching did dominate the first four innings. Luke Harrison did not allow a hit over the first four frames for UT and matched his career high with 10 strikeouts. UGA put two on in the top of the fourth, but Harrison fanned Ryan Wynn to end the threat.
Vigue gave up two hits over the first four innings with eight strikeouts. The Longhorns put two on in the first with one away, but a flyout and strikeout by Ethan Mendoza ended the inning.
“They had the bullpen up and rolling in the first inning,” said UT head coach Jim Schlossnagle. “And we had a good guy at the plate in Mendoza — uses the right side of the field really well. He just chased the pitch off the plate. We talk about two-out hitting. We scored eight runs with two outs yesterday. And if we get a bleeder to fall in there, then maybe it’s a different ball game, and certainly they would have gone to the bullpen quicker, I know. But then we let them get confident and then he started making better pitches, and we kept chasing out of the strike zone. Yeah, in these games with two great teams, it’s those little moments that change it.”
Brennan Hudson drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fifth for the Bulldogs and was sacrificed to second by Kolby Branch, just the third sac bunt on the season for UGA. Hudson went to third on a groundout and scored on a double by Tre Phelps, the first hit of the game for the Bulldogs, making it 1-0.
Ashton Larson earned a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth, ending the night for Vigue (4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 K).
“The overall approach was just confidence and belief in every single pitch,” Vigue said. “That’s what Coach Johnson has told me all season and especially going into today. If I’m going to fail, I’m going to make sure I fail 100 percent with full belief, so when I come off that field, there’s no regrets. And it’s super easy too when I have the belief of my coaches and my teammates and especially the teammates in the field making all of those plays for me as well.”
Justin Byrd entered from the bullpen for UGA. He struck out Casey Borba, and Dariyan Pendergrass laid down a sac bunt on a 1-2 pitch. Aiden Robbins lined a ball that was caught in foul territory by Phelps at third to keep it 1-0.
UGA loaded the bases with two away in the sixth. Sam Cozart took over on the mound for Harrison and struck out Branch to halt the rally.
Harrison (6-4) pitched 5.2 innings with two hits, one run, four walks and a career-best 11 strikeouts.
“The moment, it was big,” Harrison said. “I knew that all I had to do was go give it everything I got. And I really felt like I gave every ounce of what I had today. And obviously the results were solid but weren’t able to come out with a win. But very proud of the way I competed personally today. And that’s something that when I look back and realize that I went out with my best game, I can be grateful for that.”
It was an eventful top of the seventh. Ryan Black lofted a ball to center on which Pendergrass dove and came up with the ball initially, but it popped out after he rolled over. The umpire ruled it a catch and Georgia challenged the call. After review, the call was reversed and Black was awarded first on the single.
Against the shift, Phelps sent a ball through the right side for a base hit that sent Black to third.
Cozart struck out Jackson for the first out of the inning. Ryan Lujo lofted a high popup down the right field line. Shortstop Adrian Rodriguez drifted back under the ball and caught it while left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. came running in and collided with Rodriguez. Black tagged and sprinted for home. Rodriguez settled himself and made a throw to the plate. The ball beat Black, but Black’s hand touched the plate before the tag was made.
“When the two young men collided,” Johnson said, “that’s when Ryan took off and gave us an opportunity to get there. If either one of them catch it clean and don’t collide and we go, we’re probably out.”
Texas challenged the safe call at the plate and the call was upheld. UT also challenged whether Black had left third base early. That was also upheld, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.
“I knew I only had one challenge left,” Schlossnagle said. “But I also knew I wanted to appeal. In most of the plays, like a 4-6-3 double play, I think they’re supposed to review all aspects of the play. That’s what I was asking, is that part of it? And they said no. How we ended up with a third review, I don’t know. They called back to the people back here, the umpires back. And they said we would be able to do it. That’s why I was out there for so long because I’m certainly going to challenge everything they’ll let me challenge.”
In the bottom of the eighth, Robbins had a one-out single and went to second when Pack Jr. drew a two-out walk. Byrd got Rodriguez to ground out to first to end the threat.
Byrd retired the Longhorns in order in the bottom of the ninth, striking out Larson to end the contest.
Byrd (6-2) pitched five innings to earn the victory with two hits, one walk and four strikeouts.
“Anytime you fall into an elimination bracket,” Johnson said, “anytime you can save pitching, it’s massive. Justin being able to come in and attack the strike zone and finish that game out with length. I think he only finished with 62 pitches.”
Cozart worked 3.1 innings with three hits, one run, one walk and six punchouts.
Phelps and Black both finished with two hits, while Hudson and Mike O’Shaughnessy both walked twice for the Bulldogs.
Pack Jr. walked twice for the Longhorns.
Notes
- Georgia’s 53 wins is a program record. The Bulldogs have won 21 of their past 23 contests.
- Tre Phelps extended his on-base streak to 23 games.
- Texas is the only team in the nation with three pitchers having 100 or more strikeouts: Dylan Volantis 135, Ruger Riojas 120, Luke Harrison 100.
- The Longhorns lost for the first time in 23 appearances for Sam Cozart.
- Texas was shut out for the second time this season. The Longhorns were also blanked at Vanderbilt on April 25.
- With West Virginia blanking Troy 12-0 in the day’s first game and Georgia beating Texas 2-0, it marked the first day with multiple shutouts at the CWS since June 10, 1973, when Georgia Southern defeated Harvard 8-0 and Arizona State beat Minnesota 3-0. The 1973 season was the final season before aluminum bats were introduced.
- UT head coach Jim Schlossnagle likes the current state of college baseball: “I know this — college baseball’s in an amazing place. You know I’ve been doing this 36 years. This is the golden age of college baseball. I don’t know how you can watch the College World Series and the regionals and the super regionals and look at the excitement on the campuses and the investment from, obviously, places like Texas and the SEC schools, but Troy and West Virginia. I mean, how can you not want to be a part of that? And, no disrespect to professional baseball, I’ve never spent a day in professional baseball, but college athletics and the spirit around college baseball right now, in my experience, I’ve seen programs cut and no scholarships. And now we have extra scholarship money and people are building stadiums. And places like West Virginia are drawing such great crowds. It’s such a great sport, and how somebody would not want to be a part of that, it just amazes me. Kudos to all the administrations at all the schools that are investing in college baseball.”