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.

“I saw it off the bat and I was going to the wall and all I hear is ‘you got room, you got room,’ and just as I caught the ball I flipped right over and was able to hold on to the ball,” Verdin said.

“I was so pumped up. I haven’t been here for too long but that is definitely a highlight so far.”

The Dogs added another run the following half inning on an RBI single by catcher Bryce Massanari and threatened to blow the game open by loading the bases. However MSU escaped trouble further damage by inducing second baseman Michael Demperio to ground out to short.

Holder didn’t have a single 1-2-3 inning as he stranded seven MSU baserunners in six innings of work. Holder allowed two runs, struck out six and walked only two as he improved to 4-1.

“I felt a little off tonight,” Holder said. “I felt real out of rhythm but my changeup was great tonight and it was a pitch I had to go to a lot and its nice to have another pitch to go to if my fastball command is erratic.”

For the game, MSU stranded 12 baserunners and doubled by Georgia in hits, finishing with a 14-7 advantage.

Closer Dean Weaver got his second save of the season – albeit a stressful one – as he three hits and a run. MSU starter Tyler Whitney (2-1) was pegged with the loss.

Georgia and Mississippi State resume their series Saturday at 3 p.m. with junior Alex McRee slated to start for the Dogs.