Paced by a stellar pitching performance by left-hander Matt Crouse and two home runs from Matt Snyder and Matt Smith, the No. 27 Ole Miss Rebels cruised to a 7-2 victory over Southern Miss on Tuesday at Oxford-University Stadium.
Crouse, who improved to 3-1 on the year, took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning before it was broken up by a single.
The sophomore finished the game with five strikeouts and three walks in 6.0 innings of work.
Southern Miss starter Seth Hester earned the loss for the Golden Eagles.
Snyder got Ole Miss (25-13 overall) on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning, swatting a two-run home run over the right field wall, scoring Smith who had reached base via a single.
Smith tallied a home run of his own four innings later, a three-run homer off of relief pitcher Josh Jones. The HR scored Taylor Hashman and Miles Hamblin, who had reached on a double and walk respectively.
Hashman extended the Rebels lead to 7-0 in the sixth inning with a two-out double to left field that scored Kevin Mort and Taylor Hightower.
Ole Miss returns to the diamond this weekend, hosting LSU in a three-game series beginning Friday 7 p.m. (April 20, 2010)
