STARKVILLE —On what turned out to be a rain-soaked Dudy Noble Field, it was the Ole Miss baseball Rebels that found a way to overcome the elements and take Game 2 of their series at Mississippi State, defeating the Bulldogs 12-10.
With the game tied 7-7 in the sixth inning, a combination of ineffective pitching and two fielding errors by second baseman Jet Butler with two outs allowed the Rebels to plate four runs and jump out to an 11-7 advantage.
MSU bounced back with three runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth off of relief pitcher Matt Crouse, but thanks to the relief efforts of Trent Rothlin and Brett Huber the Bulldogs were unable to push across another run the remainder of the game.
Rothlin and Huber combined to throw 4.0 scoreless — and hitless — innings, striking out six Bulldogs in the process while walking none.
Huber, who pitched the ninth, picked up his seventh win of the season and second in as many nights.
In the top of the ninth, Ole Miss added an insurance run via a Tim Ferguson double to right field that scored Taylor Hashman from third base.
Hashman had reached base thanks to a throwing error from shortstop Jonathan Ogden. It was the Bulldogs’ third error of the night and seventh on the weekend.
Crouse picked up the win for Ole Miss, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits in his 0.2 innings of work.
Mississippi State’s Greg Houston was saddled with the loss, surrendering two runs on four hits in 0.2 innings of work.
EARLY STRUGGLES: Ole Miss starting pitcher Aaron Barrett struggled for much of his outing tonight.
The senior right-hander left the game in the fourth inning after surrendering five runs (four earned) on two hits and three walks. He also struck out four in 3.2 innings of work.
Barrett also was charged with four wild pitches.
UP AND DOWN: While Ole Miss sophomore catcher Taylor Hightower struggled a bit behind the plate — he was charged with two passed balls — he did his job with a bat in his hand going 3-for-5 with one run scored.
Zach Miller was 3-for-3 with one RBI, two walks and three runs scored.
Alex Yarbrough and Ferguson both went 2-for-5, rounding out the Rebels with multiple hits.
NEXT UP: Ole Miss will be looking for its first sweep of Mississippi State since 2005 tomorrow. The game is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start, weather permitting, and will be televised on CSS.
Ole Miss sophomore right-hander David Goforth is scheduled to get the start. (May 1, 2010)
