It was the best of times for two of Mississippi’s major college baseball teams, and it was the worst of times for the other after another week of action on the diamond. Mississippi State, lacking its ace pitcher, went into enemy territory and handled business versus arch-rival Ole Miss, while Southern Miss defended home field against a conference foe.
Oxford was painted maroon and white over the weekend, with the No. 6 Bulldogs using the momentum from a dramatic game-one win to earn convincing victories in the final two matchups. Brian O’Connor’s club trailed the No. 18 Rebels 4-3 going into the top of the ninth inning on Friday. Pinch-hitter Chone James hit a go-ahead triple in the frame to put the visitors up 5-4, and Ole Miss failed to counter in the bottom of the ninth. That was the closest the home Rebels would come to sniffing a win in the series.
Mississippi State (24-4, 7-2 SEC) outscored Ole Miss (19-10, 3-6 SEC) 13-2 the rest of the way, with a 6-1 win on Saturday and a 7-1 victory on Sunday to mount a clean sweep. The Bulldogs continue to be one of the hottest commodities in college baseball, having swept back-to-back SEC opponents and 10-run ruled No. 11 Southern Miss — all in under two weeks.
No Ryan McPherson? No problem. Without its star Friday night arm, Charlie Foster stepped up to the mound for Mississippi State. In his 4.2-inning stint, the longest of his collegiate career, the sophomore fanned three batters and only surrendered one earned run. Standout Saturday starter Tomas Valincius (6-0) got the game-two win after striking out nine batters in five scoreless innings. Duke Stone (5-0) was Sunday’s winner. He mounted eight strikeouts and only surrendered one earned run in 5.2 innings.
Offensively, Jacob Parker and Gehrig Frei played crucial roles in winning the series, as they hit back-to-back home runs to put game two out of reach. Notably, Andrew Raymond hit the first long ball of his collegiate career on Sunday.
For Ole Miss, situational hitting continues to be a major concern. Aside from a clutch game-one home run by Austin Fawley — one that scored three runs and put the Rebels ahead — the red and blue were virtually ineffective at the plate. Ole Miss stranded 27 runners over the weekend and went scoreless with bases loaded a whopping four times in the series finale.
The Rebels, however, did have a couple of promising pitching performances. Ace Hunter Elliott had seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings on Friday, though he was hit with three earned runs allowed. Owen Hancock emerged out of the bullpen on Saturday and threw 3.2 scoreless and hitless innings with five complementary strikeouts, though his offense did not come close to matching his strong performance.
In Hattiesburg, Southern Miss (21-7, 5-4 Sun Belt) handled another conference counterpart, taking two of three from Appalachian State. Christian Ostrander’s club scored four unanswered to win Friday night’s battle 6-5 before falling to the Mountaineers 2-6. The Golden Eagles left no doubt in the rubber match, crushing their foe 13-4.
Former ace Colby Allen (2-1), who’s been moved to a bullpen role, earned the win on Friday after striking out two batters in 2.2 scoreless innings. JW Armistead (1-0) was Sunday’s winner after getting the Golden Eagles out of a third-inning jam. Kros Sivley (3-1) was the lone losing Southern Miss pitcher. He surrendered three earned runs in the top of the sixth, upending the progress Camden Sunstrom had made in five scoreless innings prior.
Second baseman Kyle Morrison had the hot bat for the black and gold over the weekend. Over the three-game series, he had five hits, four RBI, and two home runs.
Next up
Mississippi State will host Grambling on Tuesday, then welcome Georgia for a home series.
Ole Miss will host Little Rock on Tuesday, then travel to Florida.
Southern Miss will host Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday, then head east to Old Dominion.
All three series will be played on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with it being Easter weekend.