Utah Utes baseball: Team rallies to keep magical ride going

FULLERTON, Calif. — A day after looking like the only NCAA Tournament team with a losing record, the Utah baseball team, for the most part, followed up its previous beat-down by playing like, well, the only NCAA Tournament team with a losing record.

But then it happened again.

That same magic that somehow carried the Utes through the Mountain West Conference Tournament and into this NCAA Regional showed up late. And by the time it was over on Saturday, Utah had been lifted to a dramatic, come-from-behind, 11-10 victory over Georgia Southern at Goodwin Field.

The Utes (27-30) staved off elimination from their first postseason in 49 years by rallying from a 9-4 deficit with a six-run eighth inning. And even though Georgia Southern (42-17) tied it up in the top of the ninth, Utah came right back in the bottom half and won when Michael Beltran's walk-off single scored Rick Cornu.

"They didn't quit," Georgia Southern coach Rodney Hennon said. "They played hard from the first pitch, right down to the last out. You've got to tip your hats to them."

With Gonzaga losing 7-4 to Fullerton in Saturday's second game, the Utes will face the Bulldogs at 3 p.m. today in an elimination game. The winner there will play the host Titans this evening in a must-win game to force a regional title game on Monday.

After watching his team come out flat and then rally late, Utah coach Bill Kinneberg was visibly choked up as he spoke of his team's determination.

"I'm really proud of my guys," Kinneberg said, "the way they bounced back and stayed with it when they could've really folded."

The Utes had every reason to after the Eagles jumped all over starting pitcher Brian Budrow, who gave up seven runs (all earned) and 13 hits in just 32?3 innings.

Georgia Southern batted through its lineup and scored three runs in the first inning. Griffin Benedict's solo home run in the second gave the Eagles a 4-0 lead, and they added three more runs in the fourth to lead 7-1.

It wasn't the start the Utes — who were pounded 18-2 against Fullerton the night before — had envisioned.

"Georgia Southern jumped out early on us and kind of put a damper on that fire we were supposed to come out and have," said senior Corey Shimada, who gave Utah its first run with a solo homer in the third. "But as the game went on our team started to swing the bat a little bit better, and it caught on all our players — one through nine."