dpATHENS, Ga. – No. 17 Mississippi State’s offense gave itself every chance Saturday morning at Foley Field.
But a back-and-forth slugfest tilted the wrong way late.
Mississippi State hit six home runs and piled up 15 hits, but No. 3 Georgia used a three-run homer from Mike O’Shaughnessy in the eighth inning to rally past MSU 13-12 in the opening game of the Athens Super Regional.
State (43-18) will try to keep its season alive Sunday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN. Sophomore right-hander Ryan McPherson (4-1, 2.81 ERA) will start for Mississippi State, while UGA will counter with graduate righty Caden Aoki (9-1, 3.86 ERA).
The game featured 25 runs, 31 hits and 11 home runs.
Mississippi State built its early lead with a six-run second inning. Jacob Parker drew a leadoff walk, Vytas Valincius followed with a single and Reed Stallman launched a three-run homer to right field. Kevin Milewski and Bryce Chance later singled before Ace Reese reached on an error that scored two more runs. Parker capped the inning with an RBI single to center to make it 6-0.
Milewski, who went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored, pushed the lead to 7-0 with a solo shot in the fourth.
UGA (50-12) surged back in the bottom half. Daniel Jackson and Rylan Lujo opened the inning with back-to-back solo homers, Jack Arcamone added a sacrifice fly and Ryan Black delivered a two-run double to trim the lead to 7-5.
Georgia then grabbed its first lead in the fifth. O’Shaughnessy hit a two-run homer, and Kolby Branch followed later in the inning with a two-run double that put UGA ahead 9-7.
MSU did not go quietly.
Milewski and Gehrig Frei hit solo homers early in the sixth to tie the game at 9. After Lujo’s second homer gave Georgia the lead again in the bottom of the inning, Ryder Woodson answered with a solo shot in the seventh to pull State even at 10.
Reese, who finished 3-for-6, gave Mississippi State the lead again with a solo homer to center in the eighth. Parker walked, Vytas Valincius singled and Milewski was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to stretch the advantage to 12-10.
But Georgia had one more swing left. After Kenny Ishikawa was hit by a pitch and Jackson singled in the eighth, O’Shaughnessy hit his second homer of the game, a three-run shot to right, to put UGA in front 13-12.
Justin Byrd worked around two base runners in the ninth to earn his eighth save. Grant Edwards picked up the win for Georgia, while Dane Burns took the loss for MSU.
Reese, Milewski and Chance each had three hits for Mississippi State. Frei, Reese, Stallman, Woodson and Milewski accounted for State’s six home runs, with Milewski leaving the yard twice.
O’Shaughnessy drove in five runs for Georgia, while Lujo went 3-for-5 with two solo homers and three runs scored.
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