Mississippi State vs Georgia Game 1 pitching matchup set. Who's got the edge?
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ATHENS, GA — Mississippi State baseball will start pitcher Tomas Valincius in the first game of the Athens Super Regional.
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The No. 14 Bulldogs (43-17) face No. 3 Georgia (49-12) at Foley Field on June 6 (10 a.m. CT, ESPN). The winner of the best-of-three series will advance the College World Series.
"Then, we're just going to attack them one game at a time," coach Brian O'Connor said after the team practice on June 5. "I don't know who will start Game 2 yet."
Georgia will start Joey Volchko (10-2, 3.87 ERA), who's already started twice against MSU this season. He pitched five innings at Dudy Noble Field on April 2 with two runs allowed. Then in the SEC Tournament on May 21, Volchko also pitched five innings while allowing two runs.
Mississippi State is 4-0 vs Georgia this season.
"I don't know that it's an advantage," O'Connor said. "Certainly, when you've seen somebody a couple of times, you know what they do and their pitch shapes and things like that. That said, you can face Joey as much as you want and he's still hard to hit."
Valincius was an All-SEC first-team selection and has a 2.99 ERA and 11-2 record. His 130 strikeouts are second best in the SEC and eighth in program history.
Valinicus allowed two runs in 7⅓ innings with 10 strikeouts, four hits and no walks against Georgia on April 3 at Dudy Noble Field. MSU lost that game, 3-1.
Valincius surrendered three runs in 7⅓ innings in his NCAA Tournament start on May 30 against Cincinnati, while Volchko threw six innings with one unearned run against Long Island on May 29.
Mississippi State vs Georgia super regional schedule
- Game 1: Saturday, June 6 (10 a.m. CT, ESPN)
- Game 2: Sunday, June 7 (11 a.m. CT, ESPN)
- Game 3: Monday, June 8 (TBD)
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State vs Georgia Game 1 is Tomas Valincius vs Joey Volchko