STARKVILLE - Luis Pollorena has taken the "Our State" slogan and personalized it.

The Mississippi State left-hander, making his first SEC start of the season, tossed 51/3 shutout innings as the Bulldogs downed No. 18 Ole Miss, 4-2, on Sunday to capture the rivalry series at Dudy Noble Field.

The win gave MSU (27-17, 10-11 SEC) its third league series victory of the season. State won despite recording a season-low two hits - both singles by catcher Mitch Slauter. Five hit-by-pitches and six walks overcame that.

And then there was Pollorena (3-0), the diminutive Texan who has filled various roles this season, from reliever to outfielder to pinch runner. He struck out a career-high seven Sunday while walking two and allowing four hits.

In two outings against Ole Miss this year - the other a relief appearance in Pearl - he has yielded one run in 102/3 innings.

"Now that I know how big (the rivalry) is, I enjoy beating Ole Miss," Pollorena said.

Three hit-by-pitches, two walks, a single, and a sac fly aided a four-run first inning for State. Tanner Bailey (1-1), a junior college transfer making his first career SEC start, faced four batters and got no outs before being pulled for Ole Miss.

"I let the guys down, let my team down," Bailey said. "I pictured it different in my head. I'm sorry to everybody."

MSU is among the league leaders in getting hit by pitches with 71. Phillip Casey was hit twice on Sunday.

"Our kids are good at it, thank goodness," MSU coach John Cohen said, "because if we didn't have that club in our bag right now, we wouldn't be able to put four runs on the board and give ourselves enough to get a W."

Cohen has won three of four league series against Ole Miss since coming to MSU.

The Rebels (28-16, 10-11) had eight hits and stranded eight runners. They did not score until the eighth on Matt Snyder's RBI double, and Zach Kirksey led off the ninth with a home run.

Hunter Renfroe, who moved over to center field in place of the injured C.T. Bradford, robbed Snyder of a home run in the fourth with a leaping grab at the wall.

Pollorena played some defense, too. On a comebacker from Tanner Mathis, he chased down base runner Preston Overbey between second and third base in a rundown.

"He's as athletic as anybody on the field," Cohen said. "If it's around that circle, he's going to make that play."

Caleb Reed earned his eighth save by tossing the final 32/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits.

The win puts MSU in a three-way tie for third in the SEC West, with Ole Miss and Auburn. The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven and feel they're putting a run together despite some continued injury troubles.

The severity of Bradford's injury isn't yet known, and Trey Porter was hit on the hand by a pitch Sunday and left the game.

"It's probably a game changer," Renfroe said of the series win. "This weekend helped us tremendously."

Ole Miss second baseman Alex Yarbrough saw his 22-game hitting streak come to an end.

brad.locke@journalinc.com