Georgia baseball may have had a tighter game than many expected in its opening outing of the NCAA tournament Athens Regional, but it got what it came for Friday.

With its 8-7 win over No. 4 region seed Army, Georgia moved on in the winners bracket and avoided the difficult road that comes with a first day loss in the double-elimination format. Georgia plays No. 2 UNC Wilmington Saturday night, UNCW routed Georgia Tech 9-0.

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“I’ve been on the loss in game one and had to come all the way back,” said Georgia coach Wes Johnson, whose team is the No. 7 national seed. “We didn’t win that regional but got all the way back to the last game. It really, really taxes, people think about your pitching staff, but at the end of the day too you’ve got to score runs. It really, really starts to wear on your position players. …The first one is good. It’s a tough road back out.”

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Georgia had the packed Foley Field crowd on its side and will be home throughout the tournament until it reached the College World Series in Omaha if it can keep winning.

“Just to see the turnout there today was really fun,” star Bulldog slugger Charlie Condon said. “I think it shows a lot of promise for the future for the future of this program as well. As far as brining a lot of attention back to baseball. …You can feel that energy behind you knowing that it’s on your side and it’s positive for you.”

How to watch Georgia baseball vs. UNC Wilmington on TV, livestream in NCAA tournament Athens Regional

Game time: 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1

Location: Foley Field, Athens

TV channel: ESPN+

Livestream: WatchESPN

Online radio broadcast: Georgia radio broadcast

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Bryan Arendt hit a second-inning grand slam, RJ Sales allowed just three hits before leaving with one out in the eighth inning, and No. 2 seed UNC Wilmington blanked third-seeded Georgia Tech 9-0 on Friday at the Athens Regional.

UNC Wilmington (40-19) will play top-seeded Georgia in the winners’ bracket on Saturday. Georgia Tech (31-24) takes on Army in an elimination game on Saturday. Georgia opened the regional with an 8-7 victory over the Black Knights.

Georgia Tech starter Brett Thomas ran into trouble with one out in the bottom of the second. Alec DeMartino walked, John Newton singled and Brock Wills was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Arendt, the catcher, sent a 1-2 pitch over the fence in left field to give his batterymate a 4-0 lead.

Sales (11-3) left after issuing back-to-back walks. Luke Craig took the mound and struck out Matthew Ellis looking and John Giesler swinging to end the Yellow Jackets’ threat.

UNC Wilmington added five runs in the bottom of the inning to put it out of reach. Arendt was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. No. 9 hitter Kevin Jones followed with a two-run single and Jac Croom capped it with a two-run double.

Thomas (4-2) took the loss for Georgia Tech, retiring just four batters. Camron Hill followed with 3 1/3 shutout innings to keep the Yellow Jackets in it for a while.

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ATHENS — Charlie Condon added a postseason chapter to his growing Georgia baseball legacy in the Bulldogs’ 8-7 victory over Army in the NCAA Regional opener at Foley Field.

Condon, the SEC Player of the Year and Projected No. 1 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, wasn’t flawless but his greatness was once again obvious with his 3-for-3 hitting performance at the plate, which included a home run and two walks.

How Georgia captured thrilling 8-7 win over Army

“Yeah, he’s good, if there’s a better player in the country, find him,” Black Knights coach Chris Tracz said after his team’s proud effort. “We went into it saying we didn’t want him to beat us … he’s as lethal as I’ve ever seen in college baseball, it’s effortless, and it’s real.”

But Condon is also human, and his throwing error at third base in the top of the eighth inning opened the door for a two-run Army rally that tied the game at 7-7 after Georgia finally appeared in control.

“I was coming up on the ball and a saw I wasn’t gonna have a play at first, so I did an arm fake and saw I had him off third,” Condon said, who was unsuccessful throwing behind the runner, “and I had the game speed up on me for a minute and made a bad throw.”

An Army runner crossed the plate as a result of Condon’s error and another advanced into position to score the tying run on a sacrifice fly later in the inning.

Condon, who has helped carry the team all season, explained how Georgia’s team rallied around him.

“That’s why you have a pitching staff and offensive bats that can get us back in the game,” Condon said. “It ended up, thanks to those guys, not mattering a lot.

“But it’s just how this group operates. Everybody has each other’s backs.”

The Bulldogs will next play at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Foley Field against the winner of the Friday night game between Georgia Tech and UNC-Wilmington.

First-year Georgia coach Wes Johnson said it will be an opportunity for players like Condon, who were playing in their first NCAA game, to build on Friday’s performances.

“At times, we had some guys who are in their time playing the postseason,” Johnson said, noting UGA starting pitcher Leighton Finley.

“We had some guys really nervous today, I could really see it, that was uncharacteristic of them.”

Condon’s pair of intentional walks were very much in line and characteristic of how opponents have worked to pitch around.

Condon took no issue nor frustration from the situation.

“Not when I’ve got Tre Phelps hitting behind me,” Condon said. “He’s seeing it real well, another guy I’m excited to see what his future looks like with his success and promise at a young age.

“The level he plays the game, and how relaxed he is, and how he goes about it, is really impressive. Being here three years and seeing that from a true freshman is really cool.”

Condon would know having won National Freshman of the Year honors in the first chapter of a storybook career at Georgia that now includes a postseason victory.