OXFORD — When Ole Miss rallied back in the eighth, 11th and 12th innings to defeat Mississippi State on Saturday night, the Rebels didn’t just win that game. They sapped all the life out of the Bulldogs heading into Sunday’s rubber match.
MSU’s pitchers surrendered 14 runs on 16 hits as Ole Miss routed the Bulldogs 14-2 in seven innings, winning the series against State for the first time since 2015.
“When you (give up) a walk-off like that, it gives the other team a lot of momentum,” Bulldogs head coach Chris Lemonis said. “Tip your hat to Ole Miss, they took that momentum and played with it today. Emptying the bullpens last night had a big difference on today. We have to finish games out.”
While Lemonis cycled through six pitchers, five of whom gave up at least one run, spot starter Mason Nichols kept the MSU bats quiet over 6 ⅓ innings. Nichols had made just one start all year prior to Sunday, and his season high in innings pitched was 4 ⅓. He carried an 8.64 ERA in Southeastern Conference play into Sunday’s game, but held the Bulldogs (22-14, 7-8 SEC) to four hits and two runs, striking out four batters without issuing a walk.
MSU came in short on arms not just because of Saturday’s 12-inning affair, but also because starter Jurrangelo Cijntje left the game after just three innings with back tightness. Evan Siary started Sunday and fell behind right away, yielding a two-run home run to Ethan Lege in the first inning.
“We didn’t command great all day. In the zone, out of the zone,” Lemonis said. “You thought this game was probably going to be 9-8 in the sixth, and we just didn’t put together a lot offensively.”
Siary exited after allowing another run in the second, giving way to left-hander Cole Cheatham. Typically a specialist assigned to face a specific left-handed hitter, Cheatham went two full innings Sunday, allowing one run but keeping his team close. Hunter Hines’ opposite-field RBI double put the Bulldogs on the board in the third, but Nichols proceeded to retire the next 11 batters he faced.
Lege hit his second homer of the day and third of the weekend to lead off the fifth against Colby Holcombe, who allowed three more runs in the sixth. MSU pulled slightly closer on Logan Kohler’s bases-loaded walk in the seventh, but David Mershon chased a pitch in the dirt to leave three runners aboard.
Ethan Groff’s three-run double in the bottom of the seventh put the Rebels (20-16, 5-10) on the brink of victory, and Ole Miss ended the game early via the run rule on Will Furniss’ three-run homer.
The Bulldogs return to Dudy Noble Field for a Tuesday evening non-conference game against Alcorn State, then host Auburn for a three-game series starting Friday. They will see the Rebels again on May 1 for the Governor’s Cup game, which does not count as an SEC game, at Trustmark Park in Pearl.
“Nobody’s putting their head down. Nobody’s feeling sorry for themselves,” Lemonis said. “They can’t stay with you. We can’t go back and play it again.”
Catcher Johnny Long — who was booed loudly after he had flipped his bat in the direction of the Ole Miss dugout following an extra-innings home run Saturday night — was removed from the game in the sixth due to cramping.
The designated hitter spot has been something of a black hole for MSU of late — the Bulldogs tried freshman Steven Spalitta there Saturday night and went with another rookie, Michael O’Brien, on Sunday. Dylan Cupp, who began the year as the starting shortstop while Mershon worked his way back from an injury, has not played since Mar. 21. Lemonis said Cupp is close to being cleared to play again.
“We’ve got good players. Nobody’s taking it. Nobody wants to run with it,” Lemonis said. “We just need quality at-bats. I need some walks, I need some hard-hit balls. A hit or two is nice here and there, but we have to be able to situational hit. We have talented guys, just for some reason or another, the guys I’m putting in there are just not making it happen.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
