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Mississippi State takes Game One over Georgia

By Cole Patterson

Apr 13, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A detail view of a baseball on the field prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Oakland Athletics at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A detail view of a baseball on the field prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Oakland Athletics at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mississippi State defeats Georgia 9-3 in game one of the “Battle of the Bulldogs” in a critical series that will play a key role in the SEC Championship race.

The two Bulldogs were set to meet for the first game of their weekend series at 6 p.m. central time, but the threat of weather later this evening pushed the game to start during your lunch break.

The first two innings went slow, but things started to pick up in the 3rd.

The injured Hunter Stovall returned to the line-up and bunted his way on to first base in the top of the 3rd inning. Jake Mangum hit a deep ball to left field to move Stovall to the third. With runners on the corners, Brent Rooker came up to the plate for his second at-bat of the game. Brent Rooker went down swinging in his first appearance at the plate Friday afternoon, but made up for that in a big, big way.

https://twitter.com/HailStateBB/status/863086867830505473

Rooker slammed the pitch over the left field fence to score 3 runs and push the Bulldogs ahead. Rooker’s home run was his 20th of the season — first Bulldog to reach that number since Tommy Raffo in 1989. The Mississippi State first baseman also became the first SEC player to hit 20 home runs, 20 doubles, and 65 RBIs in the same season since 2008:

Rooker was not the only one celebrating a home run, though. Elijah MacNamee decided to join in on the fun in the top of the sixth inning.

Cody Brown had himself a game, too. The outfielder made a spectacular catch to end the sixth inning and immediately followed that up by hitting a triple that scored two runs to start off the seventh. Brown’s RBI triple pushed State’s lead to 7-0, and he later scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-0 to end the top of the inning.

In addition to all the runs, Konnor Pilkington was absolutely dealing today. The LHP went 8 innings and did not give up a single run during a hot afternoon day in Georgia. As much as the bullpen has been hurt by injury, Pilkington has been big time for the Bulldogs.

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Mississippi State (33-17, 17-8) and Georgia (20-30, 7-18) return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. central time on the SEC Network. Sunday’s game three is set for noon central and will be aired on SECN+.

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