ATHENS, Ga. --- Which Georgia team will show up for the NCAA Tournament?

The Bulldogs (37-22) were ranked at or near No. 1 in the polls during the first two months of the season. But the team spent the past month in a tailspin, dampening hopes of a return to the College World Series.

Coach David Perno is encouraged by two wins in the Southeastern Conference Tournament last week and hopes Georgia is ready to make another run to Omaha after losing to Fresno State in last year's championship series.

The Bulldogs (37-22) open regional play today in Tallahassee, Fla., against Ohio State (47-10). Host Florida State (42-16) plays Marist (31-26) in the other opening game of the double-elimination format.

Looking for reasons to be hopeful, Perno pointed to SEC Tournament wins over Mississippi and Arkansas, which both received bids to the NCAA Regionals.

"And we took LSU to the limit," Perno said. "So three out of four games (at the SECs), we played as good as we could. We just didn't get enough out of the middle of the order."

Through April 24, Georgia looked like a sure thing, boasting a 33-9 record that included an SEC-best 14-5 mark. But the Bulldogs lost 11 of their last 13 regular-season games, including 10 of 11 in SEC play, and limped into the conference tournament.

First baseman Rich Poythress, who has 21 homers, 77 RBI and a .370 average, said a tough schedule might have had something to do with Georgia's slide, but the former Greenbrier standout shouldered a lot of the blame himself.

"I think it was more a factor of what was going on for this team," said Poythress, who has managed more than one hit in only one game and hasn't homered since May 3. "You can't play average baseball against the heart of the SEC and expect to win. I really struggled for a while."