Daniel Jackson’s – Daniel Jackson hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning to give Georgia an 11-9 lead, and Justin Byrd struck out Jacob Parker to clinch the Athens Super Regional and send the Bulldogs back to the College World Series for the first time in 18 years.
By the time the 10th inning arrived, Georgia already knew the game could flip in an instant. Mississippi State had stormed back from a 4-0 deficit in the first two innings, and once the Bulldogs found their footing, the scoreboard refused to stay still.
Georgia’s relief didn’t flinch—and neither did its best player when it mattered most. Daniel Jackson delivered a frozen-rope, two-run home run to put the Bulldogs ahead 11-9 in the 10th inning. From there. reliever Justin Byrd faced traffic in the bottom of the 10th and then worked his way to the final out. striking out freshman phenom Jacob Parker to end it and clinch Georgia’s return to the College World Series.
Georgia had been looking at a much longer night than it wanted. Mississippi State’s momentum grew after seven runs came in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. The seventh inning set the tone: back-to-back-to-back home runs opened it, pushing Georgia to the edge. Even so. Georgia had scored in every inning except two—only for the lead to become a question mark as Mississippi State kept answering.
That’s where Jackson turned the game from a comeback into a finish. With Georgia needing one clean swing after multiple swings of chaos, Jackson took a Pitzer hanger and launched it to left field for the go-ahead two runs. The lead proved enough for Byrd to protect.
Byrd then faced the final moments with Mississippi State forcing the issue. He faced Jacob Parker, who had homered in his previous two at-bats, but Byrd struck him out to end the game and send the Bulldogs to the College World Series, where Georgia will be the top seed.
For Mississippi State, the loss was the kind that stays with you. The Bulldogs scored 21 runs over two games and went down by a combined three runs. Brian O’Connor now has to turn the heartbreak into preparation as the program looks ahead to next season in Starkville.
Georgia’s staff and lineup will remember the sequence as three different battles packed into one contest: the first game, the innings where the lead looked fragile, and the stretch where Georgia refused to let go.
In this one, the early part carried Georgia to a cushion. Caden Aoki opened for Georgia and handled Mississippi State through the first inning in a way that bordered on gritty. Tre Phelps led off for Georgia, and Mississippi State sent Ryan McPherson to the mound. McPherson entered with a 4-1 record this year, an ERA of 2.81 and a WHIP of 1.06.
Georgia jumped out front early. A Ryan Wynn dribbler off the end of the bat scored Jackson from third to make it 2-0 Georgia. McPherson then struck out Brennan Hudson to strand runners at second and third as Georgia built the advantage.
The offense kept pushing. After Jackson reached on an errant throw following a pick at third. Rylan Lujo scored Phelps from third on a sacrifice fly to left. extending Georgia’s early lead. McPherson, who rarely walks anyone, gave up a four-pitch walk to Phelps after falling into a hole. That set up more pressure and helped drive Georgia’s run output.
By the second inning, Georgia widened the gap. Lujo hit a leadoff double and advanced to third on a wild pitch spiked way in front of home plate. With the bases loaded and momentum swinging. Georgia’s sacrifices turned into runs. and its lead reached five—the biggest stretch of separation it would have for much of the night.
Still, Mississippi State refused to disappear. Caden Aoki saw long at-bats and carried the outing through, but he had his moments. Aoki allowed a walk and a hit in the first inning, and later Kevin Milewski hit a shot to dead center to put Mississippi State on the board, cutting the deficit.
The game then developed a rhythm of shocks and repairs. After Georgia scored in its early innings, Mississippi State began clawing back, and the bullpen became a storyline almost immediately. As the game tightened, Mississippi State’s bats found a way to start landing big swings.
In the second and third innings, Duke Stone showed up with length—he entered with Mississippi State’s call to the pen in the second—and he delivered a clean sheet through the sixth. His 80 pitches suggested he could be asked again, and he held his role even as the game became more tense and shorter.
The seventh inning turned into a turning point. Mississippi State opened it with back-to-back home runs—Ace Reese hit a homer to right. and Noah Sullivan followed with a shot to right-center. Zach Brown was struggling against those bats after getting the initial out in the bottom of the sixth. and Georgia’s bullpen likely braced for the possibility of more damage.
At 8-6 Georgia with nobody out in the seventh, Kolby Branch responded for Georgia. Branch found the parking lot for a two-out solo home run and pushed Georgia’s lead back to four, before Ryan Black flew out to center to end the inning for Stone.
But Mississippi State kept answering. The ninth and 10th innings brought the kind of late-game drama that turns fans into watchers with hands over their mouths. Going into the ninth, Georgia was behind for the first time in a game full of lead swings. Hudson’s single home for Ishikawa tied the game in the top of the ninth.
Then came Jacob Parker’s two-run home run in a moment that felt like it could change everything. Parker hit another nuke to left-center to make it a one-run game, his second straight at-bat with a home run. Georgia’s comeback became a sudden urgency as the Bulldogs needed to find a run to avoid a Game 3.
Instead, Georgia did exactly what it needed in the 10th.
In the final sequence, Brian O’Connor will also remember the choices that shaped the late push. With earlier momentum built, the game’s end came down to a single clean swing and one final defensive stop. Duke Stone had turned in work after the earlier damage; relief efforts continued through the evening as Mississippi State tried to keep the tying run close.
When it finished, Georgia was headed back to the Men’s College World Series after snapping its 18-year CWS drought. Georgia will chase a much loftier goal in Omaha: its first baseball championship in Athens since 1990.
Georgia’s next test will come with the same pressure turned up. The clincher also comes with a schedule detail already locked in: Georgia vs. Mississippi State on June 7 in Athens will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. Mike Monaco, Ben McDonald and Eduardo Perez will call the game. The date is Sunday, June 7, and first pitch is set for noon ET from Foley Field in Athens, Georgia.
For Mississippi State, this one will hurt. The bats could erupt—like they did when seven runs poured across key innings—and the pitching could keep games close. like it did across stretches when the Bulldogs needed outs. But on this night. after the long swing of emotion and the late-night swing of power. the final out belonged to Georgia: Byrd striking out Parker to end it at last.
Georgia Bulldogs Mississippi State Daniel Jackson Justin Byrd Jacob Parker College World Series Athens Super Regional NCAA baseball ESPN June 7