Georgia overcomes 7-run deficit, wins instant classic over Mississippi State
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Georgia was missing one of its best players in Saturday’s Super Regional opener in Athens against Mississippi State, but it had Michael O’Shaughnessy, and because of it the Bulldogs gave their home fans an afternoon to remember at Foley Field.
With star third baseman Tre Phelps suspended for Game 1 of the matchup between SEC powerhouses after he was ejected from last week’s regionals clincher against Liberty for his celebration of a home run, it was a home run by his replacement that made the difference on Saturday. O’Shaughnessy stepped in for Phelps and blasted a 3-run homer to right field with 1 out in the bottom of the eighth to propel the Dawgs to a wild 13-12 victory over Mississippi State.
Trailing 7-0 going into the bottom of the fourth, Georgia (50-12) didn’t blink against those other Bulldogs (43-18), roaring back behind Phelps’ replacement O’Shaughnessy, who also crushed a 2-run homer in the fifth that tied the game at 7-7. It didn’t look good for the Dawgs early Saturday when they trailed by 7 runs, but by day’s end Georgia was on the brink of a trip to the College World Series after grabbing Game 1.
Georgia will play for that trip to Omaha on Sunday when the SEC rivals clash in Game 2 (noon ET, ESPN). Mississippi State will be trying to force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday.
It looked like Mississippi State would be the team playing for a trip to Omaha on Sunday, but then Georgia roared back and made a little history in doing so. The Dawgs became the first team in the past 3 years to win an NCAA baseball tournament game after trailing by 7 or more runs.
Georgia can thank O’Shaughnessy, who sent the home crowd into a frenzy with this blast:
O’Shaughnessy’s eruption at the plate was as unlikely as Georgia’s comeback. He had struck out 17 times over his previous 12 games and 9 times over his past 7 games, but he was locked in on Saturday, making the home fans forget that Phelps was missing.
Phelps is set to return from his suspension in Game 2 on Sunday, but O’Shaughnessy kept the seat warm with his 2 homers, including the deciding blast in the eighth inning with runners on first and second and 1 out. He launched an 0-1 pitch by Mississippi State lefty Dane Burns into the Athens afternoon, and Saturday’s script had flipped once again.
When Georgia starting pitcher Joey Volchko allowed 6 runs in the top of the second and then another run in the fourth, the Dawgs were staring at a 7-0 deficit. But there was still plenty of time, and Georgia made up the deficit in a 2-inning barrage, scoring 5 times in the fourth inning and 4 more times in the fifth, including O’Shaughnessy’s first homer of the day.
Georgia suddenly led 9-7 going into the sixth, but Mississippi State didn’t blink either, scoring twice in the sixth, once in the seventh and twice more in the eighth to take that ill-fated 12-10 lead that O’Shaughnessy took care of.
After O’Shaughnessy’s heroics, it was closing time, but naturally it wasn’t a clean top of the ninth for Justin Byrd. Ace Reese lined a 1-out double, then Byrd walked Noah Sullivan, and it was nervous time for the home fans in Athens.
But those nerves soon turned to a victory celebration when Byrd got Jacob Parker to fly out to left before striking out the dangerous Vytas Valincius swinging to end the crazy affair.
Georgia and Mississippi State are in a fierce battle to see which SEC program heads to Omaha to play for a national championship. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the teams with the best chance to get to the College World Series next week:
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.
