The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/20/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: DANIEL SHIREY Georgia catcher Bryce Massanari tags out Miss. State's Russ Sneed in the first inning of Georgia's 5-3 victory at Foley Field Friday.

Sparked by multiple sparkling defensive plays and the bats of the bottom three in the order, the No. 4 Georgia baseball team defeated Mississippi State 5-3 at Foley Field Friday in its SEC home opener.

"It's huge to get a win on Friday and set the tone for the weekend," Georgia starter Trevor Holder said. "I think our defense set the tone for us tonight and I can't say enough about how well we played defensively tonight."

Mississippi State (13-7, 2-2 SEC) opened the scoring in the second inning against Georgia starter Trevor Holder on a single to right by nine-hole hitter Grant Hogue, scoring a sliding Ryan Collins, who just beat the throw from right fielder Peter Verdin.

The Dogs (17-2, 2-2 SEC) quickly responded in the bottom of the inning with two runs of their own, sparked by the seven, eight and nine-hole hitters Matt Cerione, Michael Demperio and Levi Hyams.

After Cerione walked and Demperio doubled to shallow left, Hyams hit a dribbler down the third base line that MSU third baseman Russ Sneed let go, hoping it would go foul.

But it didn't, as it hit the bag and allowed Cerione to score and Demperio to advance to third. Demperio than scored after leadoff man Johnathan Taylor hit into a fielder's choice.

The following inning, Georgia extended its lead to 4-1 on Cerione's first home run of the season, a two-run shot to deep left center field that scored Joey Lewis.

Cerione then ended the fourth inning with a dazzling head-first diving catch to his left and sprinted back to the dugout, bellowing with enthusiasm.

"[Head coach David Perno] said I needed to bring my intensity because he thought that was lacking a little bit and I came ready to play today," Cerione said. "I've always been a head first [dive] kind of guy and its just something I grew up doing and I stuck with it and feel comfortable with it."

"It's the emotion," Perno said. "When he plays the game like that, there is nobody else you want out there."

Not to be outdone, Verdin ended the MSU half of the seven inning in fine fashion as he flipped over the bullpen fence and still managed to hold on to the ball for the final out. He was greeted with a standing ovation from the Foley Field crowd of 3,876, the sixth largest in Georgia history, and his teammates as he made his way back to the dugout.

Continued...

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