Tristan Bissetta’s four-hit night led No. 25 Ole Miss to a 10-3 midweek win over No. 22 Southern Miss.
The Clemson transfer was named the game’s MVP after having a stellar performance at the plate for the Rebels (27-11, 8-7 SEC). In Tuesday night’s revenge match at Trustmark Park, Bissetta hit a single, two doubles, and a home run, while accounting for two RBI. He was a triple away from the coveted cycle.
“I got some good pitches to hit,” Bissetta said after the game. “It was all about competing tonight. They’ve got a good club over there, obviously, we got the best of them tonight. [There were] opportunities to put up runs early, and we all capitalized on them.”
The Golden Eagles (25-12, 8-7 Sun Belt), while having eight hits as a team, struggled to send runners to home plate. Matthew Russo was the best bat for the black and gold, logging two hits, one of which was a home run.
After two-and-a-half scoreless innings, Ole Miss broke things open in the bottom of the third with a five-run frame made possible by contagious hitting. Bissetta hit a single to third base that scored Owen Paino. Will Furniss followed it up by singling to center field and scoring Judd Utermark. Cannon Goldin, after subbing in for Topher Jones, singled to center field, scoring two runners. Dom Decker later hit a sacrifice fly that sent Hayden Federico home, and the Rebels ended the frame up 5-0.
Bissetta added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot over the right field wall.
Southern Miss, after effectively being held at bay for five innings by the highly touted Ole Miss pitching staff, broke the seal and got on the scoreboard with a Russo solo home run in the top of the sixth. But the Golden Eagles’ momentum was short-lived.
A four-run bottom of the sixth by Ole Miss eliminated all progress its opponent had made. Utermark smoked a ground ball that Golden Eagle shortstop Seth Smith could not quite corral, sending Decker from third to home. The Rebels then found themselves with ducks on the pond, and Furniss hit a bases-clearing double to put his club up 10-1.
The good news for Southern Miss was that Ole Miss would not score again. The bad news for the Golden Eagles is that they would load the bases in the top of the seventh and threaten to claw back into the contest — only to score two runs in the frame, while getting blanked the rest of the way.
Ole Miss had 11 hits as a team in the win. Seven Rebels put the ball in play. Furniss and Utermark joined Bissetta in having multi-hit nights. Furniss had two hits and four RBI, highlighted by his big double in the sixth inning. Utermark had two hits and an RBI.
Right-handed Ole Miss pitcher Landon Koenig (2-0) was credited with the win. The North Dakota State transfer struck out three batters in two scoreless innings. Madison native JP Robertson got his debut start at the collegiate level. The Germantown High School alumnus was masterful for Ole Miss, striking out five batters in three scoreless innings, earning the praise of his coach.
“I’m proud of him, a kid from this area in his first college start. You never know how they’re going to respond, and obviously, he responded really well tonight,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said of Robertson. “A guy who’s a reliever, and you’re not really sure how far he could get, we were hopeful for two [innings]. I think the upside would be two, and he was so good that he got three [innings].”
Starting Southern Miss pitcher Bruce Littleton (1-1) was tabbed with the loss. The freshman lefty fanned three batters, but allowed five hits and three earned runs in two innings, and was pulled before recording an out in the bottom of the third. The Golden Eagles threw nine arms in the matchup.
Different trajectories
Ole Miss and Southern Miss are seemingly on different trajectories at this point in the season, though things can change rather quickly in baseball.
The Rebels are red-hot right now. Bianco’s club is currently on a six-game winning streak with momentum. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Rebels were humiliated by Mississippi State at home, being swept and looking rather uncompetitive at times. Since then, the red and blue have turned a corner, winning consecutive conference series and getting revenge versus an in-state foe.
Southern Miss, on the other hand, is on a three-game losing streak and appears to be going through the motions. After getting a game-one win at Louisiana this past weekend, the Golden Eagles were backdoored, then popped in Tuesday’s neutral-site game.
Next up
Ole Miss will travel to Tennessee for a weekend series beginning Friday.
Southern Miss will host Texas State for a three-game series beginning Friday.