State Edges Georgia 9-8 In Series Lidlifter

Friday, March 26

Starkville

6:30 PM

Mississippi State

13-9, 1-3

Georgia

8-14, 0-4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Georgia	0	0	0	6	1	0	1	0	0	8	13	2
Mississippi State	0	1	0	0	6	1	0	1	X	9	11	1

Diamond Dogs Post 8-5 Victory Over Northwestern State

State Edges Georgia 9-8 In Series Lidlifter

March 26, 2010 | Baseball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

• Official Statistics
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State erased a six-run deficit to defeat Georgia 9-8 in a Southeastern Conference baseball game played Friday night at Dudy Noble Field.

The Maroon and White Bulldogs rallied from down 7-1 with a six-run bottom of the fifth inning. Connor Powers would later score the game-winner on a wild pitch in the eighth inning.

M-State snapped a five-game losing streak in the conference's only series between a pair of Bulldogs. MSU improved to 13-9 overall and 1-3 in league play, while Georgia fell to 8-14 and 0-4. The Maroon and White are now 5-2 in one-run games this season.

Russ Sneed had his first three-hit and first three-RBI game of the season helping the hosts come from behind. Ironically, MSU has now trailed in 19 of its 22 games played this season.

"I'm really proud of the way our guys competed tonight," MSU head coach John Cohen said. "We competed very well tonight. Sometimes there are things you can't control in a baseball game, especially in the fourth inning tonight. You just have to battle through those and we battled very well tonight."

Georgia erased an early 1-0 deficit by scoring six times in the fourth inning. A two-run single by Zach Cone, two-run double by Chase Davidson and two-run single by Johnathan Taylor were the big blows in the inning.

MSU starter Kendall Graveman worked out of tight spots thanks to a double play ball in two of UGA's first three at-bats. Graveman was chased after facing five batters without getting an out in the fourth inning.

Down 7-1, the homestanding Bulldogs answered with their third six-run inning of the year.

Sam Frost began things with a walk but was retired on the base paths after a Nick Vickerson single. Luke Adkins reached on a fielding error and Connor Powers drew a walk to load the bases. The rally began with a two-run single by Sneed.

"Russ has been swinging the bat well," Cohen said. "His hits just have not been falling. He has some balls falling now and is gaining some confidence. We know confidence is everything at the plate. He has the ability to be a great hitter in the SEC."

Ryan Collins and Wes Thigpen greeted the UGA bullpen with back-to-back run-scoring singles. A failed pickoff attempt scored one run and an RBI-single by Jonathan Ogden tied the game 7-7.

An inning later, MSU took an 8-7 lead on an RBI-single by Sneed. After UGA tied the contest again, Powers reached as a hit batsman and later scored the game-winner on a wild pitch with one out.

Devin Jones (2-1) threw 1.1 innings of scoreless relief to garner the win. In the ninth inning, Ben Bracewell loaded the bases but nailed down his third save with back-to-back strikeouts to snuff out the final threat.

MSU finished with 11 hits, with Sneed being the lone multiple hitter.

Georgia finished with 13 hits. Peter Verdin had three hits, while Taylor, Levi Hyams, Cone and Chase Davidson each had multiple hits. Cecil Tanner (1-2) faced four batters in the eighth inning and took the loss.

The series resumes with a 2 p.m. start Saturday. MSU is scheduled to start freshman right-hander Chris Stratton (2-2, 2.63 ERA), while UGA is scheduled to start junior right-hander Justin Grimm (1-2, 5.16 ERA). The series finale is at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.