Posted on Wed, Apr. 16, 2008
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PEARL GEM: Bulldogs hold on to upset Rebels
By JIM MASHEK
SUN HERALD
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PEARL --
Ten months removed from a College World Series appearance, Mississippi State’s baseball team is struggling.But the Bulldogs broke through for a tense victory over Ole Miss on Tuesday night in the Governor’s Cup game, turning back the 16th-ranked Rebels 6-5 before a paid crowd of 7,862 at Trustmark Park.
MSU’s Tyler Moore delivered the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth, slicing a Justin Cryer pitch into right field for an RBI single with one out. The Bulldogs (15-21) then turned to hardthrowing closer Aaron Weatherford, who earned his first win of the season.
“We needed this one, with our six-game losing streak,’’ Weatherford said. “This was big for us to win in a atmosphere like this.’’
Ole Miss, which leads the SEC West at the midway point of the conference schedule, dropped to 24-13 with the defeat. The Bulldogs squared their season series against Ole Miss at two wins apiece. Tuesday night’s game does not count in the SEC standings.
“It was a good win for these kids,’’ said MSU coach Ron Polk, in his 29th and final season with the Bulldogs. “Ole Miss made some errors they normally don’t make, which gave us a crack at the door. I’ve competed with a lot of coaches at Ole Miss and Mike Bianco does a great job.’’
Ole Miss, which struggled at the plate through the first five innings, came to life in the top of the sixth.
Jeremy Travis and Logan Power had back-to-back touch singles, loading the bases with no outs against MSU starter Tyler Whitney. Polk then went to his bullpen, and Cody Overbeck’s sacrifice fly to deep center field off Michael Busby scored Travis, cutting the Rebels’ deficit to 3-2.
Matt Smith then hit into a fielder’s choice as Power was thrown out at the plate by MSU third baseman Russ Sneed for the second out. But Zach Miller walked to load the bases, and Polk brought in MSU left-hander Forrest Moore to face lefthanded pinch hitter Cullan Kight.
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco elected to keep Kight in the game, and he slapped Moore’s full-count pitch for a two-run single that bounced off MSU second baseman Jet Butler’s extended glove and into center field. That gave the Rebels a 4-3 lead, and Bianco turned to sophomore left-hander Nathan Baker in the bottom of the sixth.
State went back in front 5-4 in the seventh.
An error by Ole Miss first baseman Matt Smith left runners at second and third, and MSU’s Jet Butler yanked a two-run double down the left-field line, giving the Bulldogs a one-run lead.
It wouldn’t last long.
Power led off the eighth with a walk and took second when Moore was charged with a balk. He then stole third base off Weatherford and scored on Ryan Duffy’s errant throw, which skipped into left field, tying the game at 5. State grabbed a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
Ryan Powers, the ninth man in the MSU batting order, delivered a chop single over Ole Miss shortstop Sean Stuyverson, scoring Cody Freeman from second base. State extended its lead to two runs when Ole Miss second baseman Zach Miller booted Grant Hogue’s ground ball, bringing Butler home from third.
Kyle Mills, the Rebels’ DH, doubled in his two atbats and scored the first Ole Miss run on a passed ball in the third.
