Georgia won a huge game at Mississippi State Saturday night, beating the Bulldogs 3-2.
But the outcome was just part of the story for Georgia, which won the contest with a solo home run by Clayton Chadwick in the top of the ninth.
A play at the plate for the final out in the top of the eighth involving pinch-runner Dillon Carter and Mississippi State catcher Johnny Long nearly led to a scuffle between both teams.
Right after the play, Long stood over the Bulldog baserunner, bumping him twice with his knee, bringing players from both Georgia and Mississippi State onto the field.
After some initial pushing and shoving, order was restored..
Georgia would challenge the play, requesting to see if there was "malicious contact" that could have overturned the call. The league office in Birmingham ruled there was none.
However, the league also reviewed the play to determine what players were to be ejected. Per league rules, "players who leave the dugout to enter the field of play at the time of a potential altercation, are subject to ejection."
That review lasted 39 minutes until play finally resumed.
A complete list of those ejected was not released as of Saturday night, but Georgia’s Fernando Gonzalez, Slate Alford, and Tre Phelps did not return to the field for the bottom of the eighth.
Catcher Johnny Long, right fielder Dakota Jordan, first baseman Hunter Hines, second baseman Amani Larry, and third baseman Logan Kohler did not return to the game for Mississippi State.
“Everybody who was ejected today, will not be available tomorrow,” Georgia head coach Wes Johnson said on his post-game radio show. “They’ll have a one-game suspension. So, the guys who were ejected will be out tomorrow.”
The mayhem resulted in Georgia reliever Josh Roberge playing left field for the final two innings, with pitcher Brian Zeldin having to bat in the ninth.
Mississippi State, which also had several unspecified players ejected–one being the catcher Long–was forced to play Friday night’s starting pitcher Nolan Stephens in left field for the top of the ninth.
That forced Stephens to bat with two out in the bottom of the ninth. He was promptly struck out on three pitches by Zeldin to end the game.
“I feel good about what we will be able to run out. We don’t have a lot of subs,” Johnson said. “But I feel good about what we’re going to be able to run out there. We’ll be fine.”
Lost in all the confusion was the fact that the victory was a huge one for Georgia (24-7, 5-6), which now has a chance for a needed road series victory.
Zeldin gave Georgia a chance for Chadwick’s ninth-inning heroics.
After taking over for starter Leighton Finley with two out in the fifth, Zeldin (3-0) blanked Mississippi State (20-12, 5-6) over the final 4.1 inning. The transfer from Penn allowed just three hits with zero walks and eight strikeouts.
Zeldin set MSU down in the ninth without too much fanfare. A two-out single kept the inning alive, before taking just three pitches to make quick work of Stephens for the third out.
“He has to bat in the top of the ninth and come out there, (for the ninth) so you can’t be too upset,” Johnson said. “He missed a slider on the hit to left, but other than that, if he could just keep grinding and keep making pitches he was going to be fine.”
Down by a run, Charlie Condon tied the game with his 20th home run in the 5th to tie the game at 2.
The score stayed that way until the fifth when Logan Jordan coaxed a two-out walk.
Carter went in to pinch run, with Phelps following with a drive to the gap in right-center field.
Third base coach Josh Simpson sent Carter, but the throw was in time with the catcher Long putting on the tag for the third out.
That’s when it became interesting.
After the play, Long kneed Carter twice and stood over him, causing both benches to empty.
Once play finally resumed, a scoreless eighth by Zeldin sent the game to the ninth. That’s when Chadick – who earlier in the game misplayed a ball in left - lined a solo homer over the right-field fence for what proved to be the winning run.
“Clayton Chadwick is one of our best outfielders. He happens to misplay a fly ball tonight. It happens,” Johnson said. “He was in the tank, but I told him he had two choices, he could check it in or keep playing and be resilient.”
The win now puts Georgia in a position to win its first road series of the year, and more importantly even its conference record at 6-6. A win would also be one more step for the Bulldogs as they push toward the magic number of 15 conference victories, presumably wrapping up an NCAA bid.
“Our guys, we talked about believing in ourselves, as I talk about a lot,” Johnson said. “I talk about enjoying hard things, and how hard things can make you better, not just in the game of baseball, but in life.”
First pitch Sunday is set for 2 p.m.
