No. 4 Georgia Hands No. 5 MSU First Home Loss

Thursday, April 2

Starkville, Miss.

7 PM ET

University of Georgia

Mississippi State

April 02, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score UGA-MSU Friday Box

STARKVILLE, MISS. – The fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs gave No. 5 Mississippi State its first home loss of the season after posting a 10-9 win Thursday in front of a crowd of 12,828 at Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium.

With the win and South Carolina beating Texas, Georgia (25-6, 8-2 SEC) moved into first place in the Southeastern Conference.

Fast Facts

Junior Joey Volchko went five innings and allowed two runs on eight hits with a walk and three strikeouts for a win to improve to 6-0.
Junior Tre Phelps (3-for-5, HR, 4 RBI) gave Georgia a 4-0 lead with a two-out, three-run blast in the second inning. It was his 13^th home run of the year. He added an RBI-single as part of a four-run fifth to make it 10-2 and made a tremendous diving catch for the second out in the ninth sliding into the Bulldog bullpen.
Sophomore Kenny Ishikawa (3-for-4, 2 RBI) delivered a two-out, two-run single off left-hander Dane Burns in the fifth-inning outburst.
Georgia (25-6, 8-2 SEC) scored at least a run in each of the first five innings to build a 10-2 lead.
MSU cut it to 5-2 on a bases-loaded walk in the third, and then Volchko came back to strike out Jacob Parker to end the threat. In the seventh, State scored five runs on five hits off Justin Byrd to make it a 10-7 contest.
Graduate right-hander Caden Aoki came on to start the eighth and collected his third save but not before MSU closed it 10-9 in the ninth.
Coming in Thursday, MSU was 18-0 at home this season and had won 20 straight here at Dudy Noble Field dating back to last season.

Key Quotes
Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Wes Johnson

On Georgia getting another SEC road win…
"It's never easy, especially on the road, this place was packed and a hostile environment. Our guys stepped up to the challenge, and I'm really proud of them. Joey (Volchko) was calm for five innings, their guys battled and got his pitch count up and he was on short rest too. Our offense came up big too, Tre Phelps' night, Kenny's (Ishikawa) two-run single. Tre won the game with his glove and his bat. When he's healthy, Tre is one of the best players in the country and he showcased that tonight. MSU has a great offense and can put up a crooked number in a hurry."

Tre Phelps | 3B/2B | Jr.

On a Thursday night road win in the SEC...
"It came down to the last pitch, two great teams battling it out. The way Joey (Volchko) came out and then Justin Byrd followed him and you look at what Caden (Aoki) did at the end. No one got rattled. To be able to throw that first punch on the road in a game like this was huge. Mississippi State is a really good team."

Up Next
Georgia (25-6, 8-2 SEC) continues the SEC series against the MSU Bulldogs (25-5, 7-3 SEC) on Friday with first pitch set for 7 pm ET. The game will be available to stream on SEC Network+ and the Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network.