Ryan Wynn could tell Joey Volchko was dealing.

“I was standing back there, like, oh my God, I would have hated to be in the box against him today,” the second baseman said after Georgia’s 7-1 win vs. Texas Saturday at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. “And it was electric seeing all the work he’s put in. I’ve seen that kid work. Kid hasn’t had an off day in four or five months, like he’s been working… And it’s amazing to see it come out on the biggest stage.”

Volchko tossed a complete game for the Bulldogs, striking out a career-high 15 (his previous career-high was 11 vs. Santa Clara in 2024 while at Stanford). He gave up one unearned run on four hits, throwing 114 pitches, 84 for strikes.

He struck out the side in the first inning, meanwhile the Georgia lineup capitalized off two Texas errors with four runs, setting the tone early against tricky Texas lefty Dylan Volantis.

Volchko didn’t walk a batter until the ninth inning.

“Obviously the story (Saturday night) was Joey,” Georgia coach Wes Johnson said. “Commanding pitches, just hitting spots. If we called it low and away, he hit it. If we called the slider strike to ball, he did it. One of the most impressive complete-game performances I’ve been a part of.”

For Volchko, who also saved the Georgia bullpen ahead of what the Bulldogs hope to be a long College World Series run, the work he did before getting to Charles Schwab Field made all the difference.

“Honestly, the mentality is huge for me,” Volchko said. “Approaching hard things every day. Like, that’s probably the easiest day of my work. I spent more time preparing than I did worrying about executing pitches tonight. It was more about how can I get the most out of each and every day leading up to the start. And that gives me all the confidence in the world to attack.”

Volchko entered the night with a 4.07 ERA, and fought through a tough outing against Mississippi State in super regionals, giving up six runs in the second inning but staying in the game through the fifth. He gave up seven runs (four earned) on seven hits, walking two and striking out six in the eventual 13-12 win.

On what looked different for Volchko Saturday, Johnson said he saw potential in Volchko even when fighting through supers.

“This is going to sound crazy,” Johnson said. “I think we saw it last week. He had the one hiccup where State scored seven, but then he was able to continue to grind. He bookended a couple of zeros on both sides of that… So we’ve been seeing it. It’s like sometimes you want things to happen really fast in this game, and unfortunately there’s just so many different emotions you’ve got to learn to – I wouldn’t say deal with, but learn how to control. And I think that’s what you’re seeing now.

“Joey – and I’ve said it all year to a lot of different people – his better days are ahead. He’s got better days ahead of him than what he did (Saturday). And you’re just seeing the work really come to fruition right now.”

Georgia will move on to face Oklahoma, who defeated Alabama 9-0 Saturday, on Monday.