Daniel Jackson unloads go-ahead HR in 10th, Georgia takes lead over Mississippi State in Super Regionals
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The Athens Super Regional has been absolutely wild. Daniel Jackson made it even wilder on Sunday.
Georgia, which led Mississippi State 8-4 at one point in Game 2, saw its advantage shrink to 8-7 in the bottom of the 7th as it surrendered back-to-back-to-back home runs. Jacob Parker then gave MSU a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the 8th with a two-run shot before Georgia’s Brennan Hudson knotted it at 9-9 in the top of the 9th with an RBI single.
That took it to the top of the 10th, where Jackson — the man called Rhino — delivered for Georgia like he has so many times this season. After Tre Phelps reached on an error to start the inning, Jackson stepped up and smoked an 0-1 pitch over the left-field wall to give Georgia an 11-9 lead.
Those ended up being the game-winning runs as Georgia booked its first trip to the College World Series since 2008.
Georgia and Mississippi State had both put on an absolutely stunning display of power over two games. The teams combined for 11 home runs during Georgia’s 13-12 series-opening win. MSU’s Kevin Milewski had two of them, as did Georgia’s Michael O’Shaughnessy and Rylan Lujo. On Sunday, Jackson’s go-ahead shot marked the 10th homer of the afternoon.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
