While the number “1” in the grass behind home plate signified what was weighing on the minds of those in the Mississippi State dugout, the Diamond Dawgs saw their hopes of a first SEC series win fall short on the heels of head coach Ron Polk’s resignation announcement. On Friday, the Diamond Dawgs (11-15, 2-7 SEC) took a tied ballgame into the 10th inning to secure a 3-2 win over Georgia (15-10, 6-3 SEC) to open Super Bulldog Weekend.
SEC-leading base stealer Grant Hogue opened up the inning with a base hit to right field.
Grabbing his 16th stolen base of the year, Hogue was able to make it to third base on Georgia catcher Joey Lewis’ throw to second, which found its way into center field.
Two pitches later, a wild pitch from Georgia closer Joshua Fields allowed Hogue to come home with the winning run.
Fields, who worked a scoreless ninth inning, took the loss for the first time this season.
Chad Crosswhite took the win for the Bulldogs, striking out two and facing the minimum six batters to close out the game.
Hogue said he was pleased to see his teammate begin his return to form of last season.
“You can tell when Crosswhite gets like that, you don’t have to say anything to him,” Hogue said. “He’s knows what it’s like because he’s been in Omaha. He’s finally feeling healthy again and has got confidence, and when he’s got confidence, he’s going to be tough.”
Freshman right-hander Michael Busby came in for MSU starter Tyler Whitney with the bases loaded in the second inning and worked a career-high six and two-thirds innings.
Busby allowed one run on three hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.
Busby said while he was surprised to come in early in the game, he was glad he’d been preparing all week.
“The ball just felt good in my hands, and my curveball felt real good,” Busby said. “It took a while to get my rhythm, but I felt good once I got going.”
Timely hitting alluded the Diamond Dawgs on Saturday as they matched Georgia’s nine hits but dropped a 5-1 contest.
Solo home runs by Gordon Beckham and Matt Olson secured the win for Georgia, while starter Stephen Dodson worked seven innings, allowing one run on eight hits with four strikeouts.
Georgia head coach David Perno said he felt he’d seen his right-hander’s strongest start of the season.
“Today he looked closer to what he did last year than he has all season. He hasn’t looked as sharp until today,” Perno said. “He made some adjustments over the week, and it paid off.”
Polk said he felt players such as Dodson and Fields, who have chosen to return to school after being picked in the 2007 Major League Draft, have been keys to Georgia’s success.
“They were lucky. They kept Dodson and Fields,” Polk said. “I wasn’t so lucky with Edward Easley and Mitch Moreland.”
Lee Swindle took the loss for the Diamond Dawgs, allowing seven hits and five earned runs.
Freshmen recorded eight of the nine Bulldog hits with freshman leftfielder Ryan Collins leading the charge with his 3-for-4 day.
Polk said several of his freshmen look promising for this season and beyond.
“Collins, Nappi and Freeman are three of our best hitters right now. It’s good to see the youngsters producing,” Polk said. “This will be a great ballclub next year if everyone stays healthy and comes back.”
Sunday’s extra innings produced the opposite outcome as Friday’s with Georgia pulling out a 5-3 victory, led by Beckham’s SEC-leading 15th home run of the season, a one-out shot to left field.
MSU starter Ricky Bowen received a no-decision as he worked the first seven and one-third innings, allowing five hits.
John Lalor was charged with the loss in relief, giving up two runs in the 10th inning.
The home Bulldogs took a second-inning, 3-2 lead, before going scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Freeman and Hogue recorded multiple hits, with Hogue grabbed two RBIs and his 17th stolen base.
Sophomore shortstop Russ Sneed also had an RBI single in the second inning.
Polk said the key to getting back on track would prove to be the return of several players from injury. Sophomore second baseman and junior closer Aaron Weatherford will likely see action in next weekend’s series at Kentucky, but senior left-hander Justin Pigott’s recovery will be more long-term.
Polk said Crosswhite, who has been recovering from back problems, will make a couple more relief appearances before being inserted back into the starting rotation.