Ole Miss shuts down Miss. State
By By Tony Krausz/assistant sports editor
April 3, 2004
STARKVILLE Mississippi State University didn't start the opening game of its three-game Southeastern Conference baseball series against in-state rival Ole Miss on the best foot.
The Bulldogs grounded into a double play in each of the first two innings and left the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, and Ole Miss took a 7-1 win at Dudy Noble Field on Friday.
With the win, No. 4-ranked Ole Miss increased its lead over LSU in the Western Division to two games.
The Rebels are 6-1 in SEC play and 23-3 overall. Auburn defeated LSU 7-6 in 10 innings, and the Bayou Bengals are 22-5 overall and 4-3 in the SEC.
Ole Miss' victory in the series' opener also marked the first time fourth-year Rebels coach Mike Bianco tallied a win at Dudy Noble. The Bulldogs swept the Rebels in 2002, Bianco's only other trip to MSU with Ole Miss.
Ole Miss first baseman Stephen Head pestered MSU all night. The sophomore Rebel began the pair of double plays to start the game, and he accounted for four putouts.
Head's night hit its crescendo in the top of the seventh inning. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder rocketed a first-pitch offering out of the stadium for a two-run home run to give Ole Miss a 6-0 lead.
The round-trip blast, which went over a light pole in right field and into the RV parking lot behind the stadium, was Head's 10th of the season.
Ole Miss pitcher Mark Holliman kept his record spotless at 5-0 with the victory. The sophomore right-hander limited MSU to five hits over 7.1 innings and struck out eight, including striking out the side in the fifth.
MSU pitcher Jamie Gant took the loss, dropping his record to 3-3 for the season. The sophomore right-hander gave up six runs on nine hits in six innings of work and struck out three.
Ole Miss center fielder Alex Presley made sure Gant paid for issuing him a one-out walk in the top of the second inning. The freshman outfielder stole second and advanced to third on a single to left field by designated hitter Brian Pettway.
Presley scored the first run of the game, following the single, scoring on Chris Coghlin's groundout to the shortstop.
Pettway continued to make Gant pay for issuing a free base in the top of the fourth inning.
The Rebels designated hitter ripped a triple down the first base line to score left fielder Charles Babineaux, who reached first after getting hit by a pitch.
Ole Miss catcher Barry Gunther added another run in the fourth, sending an RBI single into right field to plate Pettway for a 3-0 advantage.
Gunther tacked on another run for the Rebels in the top of the sixth with an RBI single to right field, which scored Pettway from second for a 4-0 lead.
With a 6-0 lead in the top of the eighth, Ole Miss tallied its seventh run of the game off an error by MSU. Head hit an infield single, and the throw to first got away from Bulldogs relief pitcher Peyton Farr, allowing second baseman Cooper Osteen to score.
The Bulldogs' lone run came in the bottom of the ninth off the bat of pinch-hitter Casey Hamilton. With a runner on first, Hamilton ripped a first-pitch offering into the gap in left-center field to plate first baseman Brad Jones.
MSU and Ole Miss resume the weekend series at 2 p.m. today.
