Mississippi State and Southern Miss rebounded from rough conference series with weekend sweeps, while Ole Miss stayed hot by taking two of three in its series.
No. 17 Mississippi State (30-10, 10-8 SEC), after 10-run ruling Samford on Tuesday, responded as well as possible to being on the wrong side of SEC sweeps the past two weekends. Brian O’Connor’s club took a trip to the Palmetto State and brought out the brooms versus a struggling South Carolina club.
The Bulldogs took game one 5-3, then pressed the issue in game two with a dominant 9-0 victory, before squeaking out the series finale 4-3 in 11 innings. A Kevin Milewski sacrifice fly scored Gatlin Sanders in the top of the 11th on Sunday to wrap the sweep in maroon and white.
Ace Reese came to life with the long ball in the series, hitting a pair of home runs in three games. The slugger had three hits and three RBI over the weekend. Blake Bevis was an unsung hero in the back end of the series, notching four hits, two home runs, and six RBI across games two and three.
On the mound, Tomas Valincius (7-1) filled the ace role nicely as Ryan McPherson continues to work toward a return from injury. In 5.2 innings, Valincius recorded five strikeouts while giving up four runs on nine hits. Saturday starter Duke Stone (6-1) got the win with a whopping 12 strikeouts in six scoreless innings. Maddox Webb (1-1) closed out game three with three strikeouts and no hits or runs in 2.2 innings. Charlie Foster got the start and had eight strikeouts.
No. 22 Southern Miss (28-12, 11-7 Sun Belt), needing a conference sweep to keep hopes of hosting an NCAA Tournament regional alive, did just that. Christian Ostrander’s club defended home turf, taking all three games versus a tough Texas State club.
Southern Miss dominated game one 8-2, left no doubt in game two with a 6-3 victory, and grabbed the brooms in a dramatic 5-4 finish in Sunday’s finale. A wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning in game three scored Ty Long to give the black and gold their first Sun Belt sweep of the season.
Ben Higdon had a solid bat, logging three hits, a home run, and four RBI over the weekend. Davis Gillespie was Southern Miss’ best batter with four hits, a home run, and five RBI.
On the mound, Grayden Harris (7-1) proved to be an effective ace, striking out six batters and only surrendering two runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings on Friday. Camden Sunstrom (3-3) was an effective starter on Saturday, recording six strikeouts and only giving up two runs on four hits in six innings. Thomas Crabtree (1-2) got the Sunday win with two strikeouts in one clean inning. Camden Clark got the game-three start and fanned eight batters.
No. 25 Ole Miss (29-12, 10-8 SEC) remains red-hot, following a sweep of LSU and a dominant midweek win over Southern Miss by taking two of three at Tennessee. Mike Bianco’s group continues to build its résumé despite early signs of concern in conference play.
Ole Miss leaned on strong pitching and a couple of very hot bats in a 7-4 win on Friday and an 8-1 victory on Saturday. Sunday’s finale, however, found the home Volunteers wanting the win a little bit more than their foe. The Rebels dropped the third matchup 13-5, giving up a much higher run total than normal.
Offensively, Tristan Bissetta and Hayden Federico were the stars for Ole Miss. Bissetta had five total hits, three home runs, and an eye-popping eight RBI in the three-game affair. Federico, who’s had one of the best bats in the SEC of late, had five hits, a home run, and four RBI. Judd Utermark notably hit two home runs as he inches near Kyle Gordon’s program-leading 48 career long balls.
On the mound, Hunter Elliott (4-1) proved again to be a trustworthy ace. In six innings, the lefty recorded five strikeouts while only surrendering three runs on six hits. Saturday starter Cade Townsend (4-1) was electric, fanning seven batters while only allowing one hit in six scoreless innings. Taylor Rabe (3-2) was hit with the lone loss of the series for Ole Miss. The sophomore was off on Sunday as he gave up an uncharacteristically high five runs on six hits in three innings.
Next up
Mississippi State: hosts Memphis on Tuesday before welcoming LSU to Dudy Noble Field for Super Bulldog Weekend.
Southern Miss: hosts Tulane on Tuesday before traveling to South Alabama for the weekend.
Ole Miss: hosts Murray State, the team that knocked the Rebels out of the postseason last year, before welcoming No. 5 Georgia to Swayze Field for Double Decker weekend.
