Mangum Becomes SEC Hits King; Dawgs Clinch Series

STARKVILLE, Miss. (MSU Athletics) – Senior Jake Mangum posted his 65th career hit to leadoff a game and the order turned over in the second inning, allowing the Pearl, Mississippi native to etch his name atop the Southeastern Conference’s all-time hits list. Mangum score the first run and drove in the final run of No. 9 Mississippi State’s 9-3 victory over No. 3 Georgia to clinch the series win on Saturday (April 27) at Dudy Noble Field.

Mangum finished the afternoon 3-for-5 in the game with the aforementioned run scored and RBI. His three hits were a part of a 12-hit day for Mississippi State (35-9, 12-8 SEC), which led to the series win over Georgia (33-11, 13-7 SEC). Those three hits pushed his career total to 354, moving him past LSU’s Eddie Furniss (352; 1995-98) as the SEC’s all-time hits leader.

The sophomore trio of Tanner Allen, Rowdy Jordan and Jordan Westburg each moved reached base streaks to 12 games. Allen walked and scored a run in the game, Jordan homered, was hit by a pitch and scored twice, while Westburg had a pair of hits – including a double – with a run scored and an RBI.

Another sophomore, Justin Foscue, had a big day at the plate, hitting his 12 home run of the year as part of a 3-for-5 day. Foscue added a pair of singles, drove in three runs and scored twice in the contest.

While the senior garnered most of the attention, freshman JT Ginn (8-2) earned his eighth win of the season on the mound with five innings of one-run work. He walked two and struck out seven. Ginn allowed just five hits and fanned multiple batters in three of his five innings.