OMAHA, Neb. (Interstat) — Justin Byrd and Dylan Vigue combined on a two-hit shutout and Tre Phelps drove in the game’s only run as Georgia defeated Texas 2-0 on Tuesday in an NCAA playoff game at Charles Schwab Field.

The second-seeded Bulldogs (53-13) scored both runs in the middle innings against a Texas pitching staff that struck out 17 batters but could not overcome the zeros posted by Byrd and Vigue. Georgia’s victory avenged a 7-1 loss to Texas on June 13 in the previous meeting between the teams and pushed the Bulldogs one win away from advancing deeper in the postseason.

Vigue started and worked four perfect innings, striking out eight of the 12 batters he faced. Byrd entered in the fifth and matched his teammate with five innings of hitless relief, fanning four while walking two.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth. Georgia’s Hudson B. walked to lead off the inning, moved to second on a bunt by Branch K. and advanced to third on a groundout by Black R. Phelps then doubled to left field, scoring Hudson and giving Georgia a 1-0 lead.

Georgia added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Black singled to center field with one out, and the call was initially ruled a line out before being overturned on a Georgia challenge. Phelps followed with a single to right, putting runners at the corners. After a strikeout, Lujo R. hit a sacrifice fly to shortstop, scoring Black and making it 2-0. Texas challenged whether Black tagged from third, but the call was confirmed, and the run stood.

Texas threatened in the bottom of the first, putting runners at second and third with one out after a single and a walk, but Dylan Vigue struck out Ethan Mendoza to end the inning. The Longhorns (46-15) put two more runners on in the sixth when Robbins singled and advanced to second on a fielding error, but Byrd stranded him there. In the eighth, Texas had a runner on second with two outs after a walk to Pack, but a groundout ended the inning.

Texas starter Luke Harrison struck out 11 over 5 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and one earned run. He left after walking Hudson in the sixth with the bases loaded, and reliever Samuel Cozart struck out Branch to escape the jam. Cozart worked 3 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and one earned run with six strikeouts.

Offensively, Georgia managed five hits. Phelps had two hits and the RBI, while Black added two singles. Texas had four hits, including singles from Tinney, Borba, Rodriguez and Robbins. The Longhorns went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base.

The defensive play of the night came in the top of the seventh when Georgia’s challenge of a lineout call turned a potential inning-ending out into a base hit that led to the eventual run. Texas used its two challenges on the play, losing both, and was out of challenges for the remainder of the game.

Byrd’s relief appearance continued a strong postseason run. He had not allowed a run in his previous two outings, throwing two hitless innings against Mississippi State on June 7 and one hitless inning against the same team on June 6.

Texas had won its regional and super regional to reach Omaha, including a 14-2 win over Alabama on June 15. Georgia had also advanced through the postseason, though it lost to Oklahoma 4-3 on June 15 before rebounding against Texas.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Georgia 8, Texas 7, and Interstat’s ELO system gave Georgia a 50.10 percent probability to win.