Fourth-ranked Georgia rallied for four runs in the ninth but ninth-ranked Mississippi State held on for a 6-5 win to complete a sweep Sunday in front of 8,204 at Dudy-Noble Field.

MSU ran its record to 36-9 overall and 13-8 in the SEC while the Bulldogs dropped to 33-12 (13-8 SEC). Before this weekend, Georgia hadn’t been swept in an SEC series since 2017 at No. 11 Arkansas.

The first two Georgia hitters reached to start the contest on an error followed by a single by Riley King. Then, MSU senior right-hander Peyton Plumlee came back to strike out the side on 11 pitches. MSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second courtesy of a sacrifice fly by Dustin Skelton. It scored Justin Foscue who reached on a leadoff walk and took third on a base hit by Rowdey Jordan.

With two outs and a runner at second and trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Georgia lifted junior right-hander Tim Elliott for freshman Cole Wilcox. His first pitch was lined back to him, which he snagged for the final out. In the fifth, MSU extended its lead to 3-0 in the fifth with a two-run double from Tanner Allen.

Plumlee (3-3) carried a one-hitter through 6.2 innings for the win before MSU went to the bullpen for Trysten Barlow with one on, one out and a 2-2 count on Chaney Rogers. He would draw a walk to put two on for Patrick Sullivan as he reached on a walk to load the bases. The Bulldogs sent up pinch-hitter Austin Biggar while MSU went back to the bullpen for senior Jared Liebelt. He got Biggar to line out to center for the second out and then pinch-hitter Connor Tate struck out looking. A sacrifice fly by Tanner Allen made it 4-0 in the seventh.

Junior Tucker Maxwell led off the eighth with a double for

Georgia’s second hit on the afternoon. With two outs, Cam Shepherd lined an RBI-single to center to spoil the shutout bid and trim the deficit to 4-1. MSU looked to closer Cole Gordon. Rogers worked a walk to load the bases for Sullivan who struck out as the Bulldogs left them loaded for the second straight inning. MSU pushed across a pair of runs in the eighth. Biggar smashed Colby White’s first pitch of the ninth inning over the fence in left field for his second home run of the year. Then with one on and two out, Talley crushed an opposite field three-run home run, his eighth of the year, to make it a one-run game at 6-5. White came back to retire John Cable and Shepherd as MSU hung on for the win.
                                                           

Elliott dropped to 5-3 after allowing just one run on two hits with three strikeouts over 2.2 innings. Wilcox went 3.2 innings and gave up three runs on four hits with three strikeouts.  Ryan Webb and Zac Kristofak pitched in relief as well Sunday.

Dawg Tracks

• Senior LJ Talley smashed a three-run blast on an 0-2 offering with one out in the ninth to make it a 6-5 game. It extended his hitting streak to six games.
• Junior Austin Biggar connected for his second home run of the year to start the ninth inning.
• Junior right-hander Tim Elliott made his 14^th career start including his first SEC start. He had made nine midweek starts this year, posting a 5-2 mark with a 2.59 ERA. After throwing 54 pitches in a start this past Tuesday, he tossed 48 pitches Sunday and left trailing 1-0 with two outs in the 3^rd.
• Sophomore Cole Tate made his second straight start at third base for junior Aaron Schunk, the team’s leading hitter in SEC action at .355, who was sidelined with a sore Achilles.

 
Coach’s Corner

Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On the game…
“Overall, it was a disappointing weekend. We didn’t play well and Mississippi State outplayed us. We didn’t get it done, and we had plenty of opportunities in every game. I thought today we pitched well enough to win but we didn’t make a few plays in the field, and we didn’t get much going offensively until the ninth inning. We were down 6-1 in the ninth and didn’t quit. We fought back to get the tying run to the plate in the ninth. We’ll get back home and regroup and get ready for The Citadel on Tuesday at SRP Park.”

Up Next 
Georgia will face The Citadel Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET at SRP Park in North Augusta, S.C.