Georgia beats Mississippi State in wild 11-homer NCAA super regional slugfest

The 11th home run of the game was the difference.In a wild super regional contest in the NCAA baseball tournament, Georgia spotted Mississippi State a seven-run lead, scored nine consecutive runs, blew their own two-run lead and needed a three-run home run to erase a late two-run deficit in a 13-12 win against rival Mississippi State.The teams will play again at noon Sunday in the best-of-three series.Michael O’Shaughnessy, who was filling in for suspended teammate Tre Phillips at third base, hit his second home run of the game off the right field scoreboard with two runners on base in the bottom of the eighth inning.

It erased Georgia’s 12-10 deficit.Georgia has owned Mississippi State this season, including winning a three-game SEC series in April and a meeting in the SEC Tournament.Mississippi State hit a pair of home runs in building a 7-0 fourth-inning lead, but Georgia answered with five runs in the bottom of the fourth.O’Shaughnessy’s first home run — a two-run shot as part of his five-RBI day — tied the score at 7-7, and Georgia tacked on two more runs before the end of the fifth.It looked like Mississippi State was going to overcome its collapse when Ryder Woodson tied the game, 10-10, with a home run in the seventh, and Ace Reese added a go-ahead shot leading off the eighth.

A bases-loaded hit by pitch pushed the lead to 12-10.But no lead was safe in this slugfest.Winners of 18 of its last 19 games, Georgia needs to win one game before Mississippi State wins two to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., for the first time since 2008.Eight of the 11 combined home runs were solo blasts, though each team had a three-run homer.The game ended with Mississippi State stranding the tying run in scoring position....