Georgia, Mississippi State confirm starting pitchers for Game 2 of Super Regional
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Georgia and Mississippi State will have different agendas when the SEC rivals trot onto Foley Field in Athens for Game 2 of their Super Regional on Sunday afternoon.
With first pitch scheduled for noon ET on ESPN, Georgia will be trying to punch its ticket to next week’s College World Series in Omaha, while those other Bulldogs from Starkville will just be trying to extend their season to a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday.
Fans of both teams will probably be catching their breaths after Saturday’s Game 1 thriller, won by Georgia in a 13-12 comeback victory that put the Dawgs on the brink of Omaha. Georgia was in a tough spot after trailing 7-0, then held off multiple Mississippi State rallies in the late innings to prevail on Michael O’Shaughnessy’s 3-run home run in the eighth inning.
What will the SEC powerhouses do for an encore in Game 2? Fans will find out on Sunday, and late Saturday afternoon after the dust settled on Game 1, the starting pitchers for Game 2 were revealed. For the host Dawgs, it’ll be right-hander Caden Aoki, who comes in with a 9-1 record and a 3.86 ERA.
And for the other Bulldogs, the visiting ones who are staring elimination in the face on Sunday, it’ll be fellow righty Ryan McPherson. The sophomore sports a 4-1 mark and a 2.81 ERA. He’ll be trying to set the tone for a Mississippi State team that will be going all out to force that deciding Game 3 on Monday.
While Georgia will be playing on its home field, the Dawgs will be the designated road team on Sunday after being the home team in Saturday’s Game 1 slugfest.
Georgia and Mississippi State are battling it out this weekend for a spot in next week’s College World Series. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the teams with the best shot to be holding the national championship trophy in Omaha:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
