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HOOVER, AL — Mississippi State baseball was eliminated from the SEC Tournament.
The No. 8 seed Bulldogs (40-17) lost 5-3 against No. 1 Georgia (44-12) in the quarterfinals at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on May 21. A win would've gotten them to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2013.
A three-run home run by Georgia's Brennan Hudson in the fourth inning was the difference.
MSU is expected to host an NCAA Tournament regional at Dudy Noble Field and will learn its opponents on May 25. Georgia will play the winner of No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Florida in the semifinals on May 23.
Duke Stone tied his career high with seven runs allowed in his last start at Texas A&M, but pitched well at first against Georgia, the top offense in the SEC.
The first inning was an efficient nine pitches. Georgia loaded the bases in the second inning with one out, but only one run scored on a sacrifice fly. No Georgia runs were scored in the third inning.
But the fourth inning was Stone's undoing. Hudson hit a three-run home run off Stone, giving Georgia a 4-1 lead. Stone exited after that with four runs allowed in 3⅓ innings with six hits, one walk and four strikeouts on 55 pitches.
Stone hasn't pitched longer than five innings since April 18 against South Carolina.
MORE: Why Valincius brothers in Mississippi State lineup together is working so well
Mississippi State didn't have trouble getting on base against Georgia but struggled to drive runners in.
MSU recorded nine hits in the game, two walks and a hit by pitch but hit into four double plays.
The Bulldogs' first run was scored off Georgia's Joey Volchko in the third inning on a Chone James RBI single. Ace Reese drove in MSU's second run on a single in the sixth inning. Noah Sulllivan led off the ninth inning with a home run.
James started a third straight game at catcher as Kevin Milewski and Andrew Raymond remained out with injuries. They were both game time decisions on the injury report.
Mississippi State used five relief pitchers in the two SEC Tournament games who combined to allow only one run. It came on a Dane Burns walk with the bases loaded against Georgia, though the run was charged to Jack Bauer.
Otherwise, the MSU bullpen also consisting of Maddox Webb and Tyler Pitzer didn't concede another run to keep MSU in striking distance against Georgia.
Ben Davis threw one shutout inning against Missouri in the second round in the run-rule win.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State baseball SEC Tournament over with loss to Georgia
Continue reading...
The No. 8 seed Bulldogs (40-17) lost 5-3 against No. 1 Georgia (44-12) in the quarterfinals at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on May 21. A win would've gotten them to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2013.
A three-run home run by Georgia's Brennan Hudson in the fourth inning was the difference.
MSU is expected to host an NCAA Tournament regional at Dudy Noble Field and will learn its opponents on May 25. Georgia will play the winner of No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Florida in the semifinals on May 23.
Duke Stone pitched well vs Georgia until fourth inning
Duke Stone tied his career high with seven runs allowed in his last start at Texas A&M, but pitched well at first against Georgia, the top offense in the SEC.
The first inning was an efficient nine pitches. Georgia loaded the bases in the second inning with one out, but only one run scored on a sacrifice fly. No Georgia runs were scored in the third inning.
But the fourth inning was Stone's undoing. Hudson hit a three-run home run off Stone, giving Georgia a 4-1 lead. Stone exited after that with four runs allowed in 3⅓ innings with six hits, one walk and four strikeouts on 55 pitches.
Stone hasn't pitched longer than five innings since April 18 against South Carolina.
MORE: Why Valincius brothers in Mississippi State lineup together is working so well
Mississippi State offense got hits but only three runs
Mississippi State didn't have trouble getting on base against Georgia but struggled to drive runners in.
MSU recorded nine hits in the game, two walks and a hit by pitch but hit into four double plays.
The Bulldogs' first run was scored off Georgia's Joey Volchko in the third inning on a Chone James RBI single. Ace Reese drove in MSU's second run on a single in the sixth inning. Noah Sulllivan led off the ninth inning with a home run.
James started a third straight game at catcher as Kevin Milewski and Andrew Raymond remained out with injuries. They were both game time decisions on the injury report.
Mississippi State's bullpen allowed 1 run in SEC Tournament
Mississippi State used five relief pitchers in the two SEC Tournament games who combined to allow only one run. It came on a Dane Burns walk with the bases loaded against Georgia, though the run was charged to Jack Bauer.
Otherwise, the MSU bullpen also consisting of Maddox Webb and Tyler Pitzer didn't concede another run to keep MSU in striking distance against Georgia.
Ben Davis threw one shutout inning against Missouri in the second round in the run-rule win.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State baseball SEC Tournament over with loss to Georgia
Continue reading...
