CARY, N.C. - So far, so good.

Grant Bauer hit a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in the winning run and lift No. 1 UC San Diego to a 3-2 victory over No. 4 Georgia College & State University on the opening day of the NCAA Division II National Championship at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.

Tim Shibuya tossed his fifth complete game of the season, Kyle Saul drove in two runs, and Vance Albitz scored twice to lead UCSD to its fourth straight victory in NCAA Tournament play.

The only returning team in this year's final eight, the Tritons improve to 52-7 on the year and advance to face No. 3 Central Missouri in the winner's bracket on Monday at 7:00 p.m. local time (4:00 P.T.). The Mules defeated No. 2 Tampa 3-0 earlier in the day.

Georgia College & State, which won the Southeast Regional title to punch its first national championship ticket since 1995, falls to 39-16 overall. The Bobcats will face Tampa in the first elimination game of the tournament Monday at 3:00 p.m.

"We played a very solid, very well-coached Georgia College ballclub tonight," head coach Dan O'Brien said. "That's a ball game that could have gone either way. Both teams scraping and clawing, two number one's throwing their hearts out... that's what college baseball is all about."

In a battle between two of the top pitchers in the nation, Shibuya out-dueled GCSU's Martin Dewald, as both starters went the distance. The Tritons' ace allowed two runs on eight hits in nine complete innings, improving to 13-2 on the season. He finished with four strikeouts and did not walk a batter.

Dewald, a native of Mannheim, Germany, also allowed eight hits and dropped to 11-3. He struck out nine and walked three.

"I felt really good out there tonight," Shibuya said. "My arm was loose all day, the ball was coming off my fingertips really well and I felt like I could throw where I wanted to. It's easy to pitch when you have such a great defense behind you."

Despite a two hour rain delay, the Tritons were sharp early on, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Albitz hit a leadoff single, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He then came home on a sacrifice fly from Saul.

UCSD's 1-2 hitters came through again in the fifth, as Saul followed a two-out single by Albitz with an RBI double down the left field line that made it 2-0.

Shibuya had allowed just two hits through five innings before GCSU finally broke through with two runs in the top of the sixth. The Bobcats sent seven batters to the plate in the inning -- getting four straight singles at one point -- as Shawn Ward and Matt Pitts drove in runs to tie the game at two.

Georgia College would have taken the lead if not for a stellar play to record the final out of the frame. After Richard Pirkle singled through the left side, left fielder Aaron Bauman connected with cutoff man Evan Kehoe at third to nail Ward at the plate. Ward choose not to slide and UCSD catcher Kellen Lee held his ground, denying the would-be go-ahead run.

Both Shibuya and Dewald escaped unscathed through the next three innings until Bauer's heroics in the ninth. Kehoe was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by pinch-hitter Chris Fong.

After the Bobcats got Lee to fly out, Bauer came up and calmly singled through the left side to score Kehoe from second and seal the win. The junior second baseman came up with the big knock after going hitless in his first three at-bats.

"I had been struggling against (Dewald) in my previous at-bats, but a lot of people were talking to me before the at-bat and telling me to wait for something up and to stay relaxed," Bauer said. "It's easy to get pretty excited in that situation, so I just tried to stay relaxed and I got a pretty good swing on it." 

The Tritons will be playing in the winner's bracket for the first time when they take the field on Monday. UCSD lost a 3-1 decision to Dowling in its opener in 2009, before battling back to finish third.

O'Brien will now send Matt Rossman to the hill against Central Missouri. The senior right-hander is a perfect 9-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 15 starts this season.