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FINAL: MSU 4, Ole Miss 2
The game's most popular cliche is "That's baseball." Well, that really doesn't apply here.
A four-run inning with only one hit is rather unique. It's even more unique when the hit is a single.
State scored three runs on a bases-loaded walk and two bases-loaded hit batters. The only run the Bulldogs scored by putting a ball in play was their fourth, on a sac fly by Wes Rea.
Ole Miss out-hit MSU 8-2, but that's not something that will help the Rebels if the two state rivals end up tied in the SEC standings. Both are 10-11 right now, and State owns the tie-breaker.
The Rebels were unable to string hits together against Luis Pollorena and Caleb Reed, who combined for two walks.
The bigger question here is where does Ole Miss go with its Sunday starter? Mike Bianco said he doesn't intend to move R.J. Hively back to the rotation. Hively in the pen has been really good to the Rebels the last two Saturdays. Bianco will continue to hunt for a Sunday guy who can settle things down at the beginning, go for 3 or 4 innings, then turn it over to his bullpen.
That would have been an effective plan today had the Rebels been better offensively.
Zach Kirksey, who came off the bench in the DH spot, was the team's only multiple hitter with a single and a ninth-inning solo home run.
Alex Yarbrough had his hit streak ended at 22 games. He talks about that in the video above.
Matt Snyder had some bad luck with the long ball. MSU center fielder Hunter Renfroe robbed him of a home run, he narrowly missed a home run with a foul ball. Finally Snyder had one fall when his ball off the base of the wall in straight-away center drove home pinch-runner Jake Overbey with the Rebels' first run. That was in the eighth.
Nine SEC games left, and the Rebels have to right some things to finish strong.
***
About 10 minutes from first pitch here. Just getting settled in. Tanner Bailey, coming off a perfect four innings at Memphis, starts for Ole Miss against MSU lefty Luis Pollorena.
I'll have updates on Twitter and will be back here after the game.
LINEUPS
MSU
SS Adam Frazier .349
C Mitch Slauter .233
1B Trey Porter .281
3B Daryl Norris .314
CF Hunter Renfroe .247
RF Brent Brownlee .224
DH Phillip Casey .174
LF Tyler Fullerton .246
2B Matthew Britton .140
LHP Luis Pollorena 2-0, 1.86, 19.1 IP
OLE MISS
LF Tanner Mathis .344
3B Andrew Mistone .255
2B Alex Yarbrough .429
33 Matt Snyder .356
C Will Allen .336
CF Auston Bousfield .276
DH John Gatlin .333
RF Preston Overbey .268
SS Blake Newalu .365
RHP Tanner Bailey 1-0, 2.95, 18.1 IP
JB
GO Rebels don't lose this game.