State Evens Series With 7-5 Win At Georgia
May 10, 2003
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State (34-14-1, 15-10 SEC) scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings and freshman Jamie Gant pitched 3-2/3 innings of scoreless relief Saturday afternoon as the 14th-ranked Bulldogs topped Georgia 7-5 at Foley Field. The MSU win evens the weekend series at 1-1 with Sunday's deciding series finale against Georgia (27-23, 9-17 SEC) set for Noon CDT.
State plated two runs in the sixth to tie the score at 5-5 and took its third lead of the game in the eighth when Robby Goodson opened the inning with a walk, advanced on a wild pitch and came home on Jeff Butts' two-base gapper in left-center. MSU matched that in the ninth when Jon Mungle opened the inningw ith a walk and raced home from third base on Matthew Brinson's double to left-center.
Gant, MSU's third pitcher in the game, replaced Saunders Ramsey in the sixth after Georgia put runenrs on base with a pair of infield singles. Gant retired the next two batters on fly balls to center field, worked around a pair of walks in the seventh, and allowed just one base-runner over the final two innings to earn his second win of the year. The freshman right-hander from Winona, Miss., allowed one hit and two walks, retiring nine of the 12 batters he faced.
Jon Mungle, Steve Gendron and Goodson delivered first inning singles as State jumped on UG starter Sean Ruthven for a pair of runs. Brinson drove in the game's first run on an infield grounder and Goodson's single to rigfht made it a 2-0 lead.
Georgia answered an inning later with two runs. Marshall Szabo hit the Foley Field scoreboard in left field with his fourth home run of the year and Clint Sammons followed with a walk, advanced on a single by Jasha Balcom and came home on a sacrifice fly by Justin Holmes.
MSU forged back into the lead in the fourth. Catcher J.B. Tucker drew a one-out walk, moved to third on Jeff Butts' single to left and came home on Thomas Berkery's groundout to shortstop.
The homestanding Georgia Bulldogs got back-to-back singkles from Josh Smith and David Coffey to open the fifth, knocking State starter Alan Johnson out of the game. Saunders Ramsey replace Gant and struck out the first batter he faced. But Jon Armitrage followed with a liner to left past a diving Jon Mungle, ending up at third base and giving Georgia a 4-3 lead. Armitrage later came home on Justin McClain's sacrifice fly to center field.
State scored twice to pull even in the sixth. Brad Corley reached on a error at third base and Goodson singled up the middle, ending starter Ruthven's five-plus inning mound performance. Matt Woods followed Ruthven to the hill and loadedc the bases by hitting catcher J.B. Tucker. Butts plated a run with a sacrifice fly and Berkery knotted the score at 5-5 with an infield groundout that scored Goodson.
MSU then got lead-off walks followed by run-scoring doubles in the eighth and ninth innings to nail down the win.
Goodson and Butts paced MSU's seven-hit plate performance with two hits each, while Armitrage had two of UG's nine hits.
Johnson, the SEC pitcher of the week, was charged with four of UG's five runs, scattering five hits and walking three with two strikeouts.
With the win, Mississippi State matched its 2002 season-win total (34) and surpassed last year's SEC win total (14).
MISSISSIPPI STATE 7, GEORGIA 5
MSU 200 102 011 -- 7-7-1
UGA 020 030 000 -- 5-9-2
WP -- Jamie Gant (2-1). LP -- Matt Woods (1-5). HR -- (UG) Marshall Szabo (4). T -- 3:13. ATT -- 1,965.
Alan Johnson, Saunders Ramsey (5), Jamie Gant (6) and J.B. Tucker. Sean Ruthven, Matt Woods (6), Brent Benefield (8), Rip Warren 8) and Clint Sammons.
<span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'><span style='color:red'>NOW GO AND WIN THE SERIES!!!</span></span>
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