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Mississippi State was already having an incredible weekend of baseball against Kentucky.
The Bulldogs swept the Wildcats in a doubleheader on Saturday in Starkville and were going for the weekend sweep on Sunday. That pursuit of the sweep was going very well on Sunday, too, as Mississippi State had a healthy 6-1 lead in the top of the 9th. The badly needed sweep was 3 outs from happening, and then on the way to getting that sweep in the 6-1 final, magic happened.
Michael O’Brien had just been inserted into the game in center field, and sometimes when a player gets put in the game late, the ball finds him. That was the case this time, and every Bulldogs fan in the stands and those watching on TV were thankful for that.
The TV announcers didn’t even realize that O’Brien had been inserted into the game, making the call of O’Brien’s spectacular catch by using a different name. Then he corrected himself, because that’s what O’Brien richly deserved. O’Brien stole a home run away with that insane catch for the first out of the ninth, and soon later the Bulldogs had the 6-1 win and the crucial weekend sweep.
Here is the video of O’Brien’s catch:
Mississippi State improved to 29-19 overall and 10-14 in the SEC with the victory and the sweep as the Bulldogs try to bolster their NCAA Tournament chances. They did just that this weekend against the Wildcats, who fell to 25-20 and 10-14.
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.
