The Flagship: Ole Miss baseball exorcised some demons against the in-state rival
In case you missed it, Ole Miss baseball run-ruled Mississippi State on Sunday to secure the first series win over the in-state-rival Bulldogs in nine years. If you’re doing the math at home, it’s over 3,000 days. The last series win was in 2015 when the Rebels swept the Bulldogs at home.
Ole Miss (20-16, 5-10 SEC) rolled in a 14-2 rout in the series finale, its largest win against Mississippi State (22-14, 7-8) since 1960. OMSpirit’s Ben Garrett wrote about it after the team celebrated at Swayze Field.
Will Furniss’ walk-off, three-run home run in the seventh inning finished things off. Ethan Lege homered twice; he now has 11 on the year. Lege and three other Rebels had at least two hits.
“He’s kind of the heart and the soul of the team,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said of Lege. “Great leader, great player. Selfless. Just a great leader that’s having a great year.”
Evan Siary (0-3) took the loss for Mississippi State. Ole Miss outhit the Bulldogs, 16-4. Furniss and Andrew Fischer each had three hits in four at-bats and drove in at least one run. Furniss clubbed a team-best four RBI.
Ole Miss next travels to Arkansas State Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.
“Huge,” Lege said following the Rebels’ extra-innings win on Saturday, which snapped an eight-game losing streak. “It brings us back. Our energy was a little down the past two weeks.
“This is the biggest win so far this year.”
On this episode of “The Flagship”, presented by College Corner, we recap the potential turning point in the 2024 season.
“(This series) means a lot,” Ole Miss starting pitcher Mason Nichols said. The right-hander was strong in earning his fourth win of the season. He worked into the seventh inning.
“Last year I remember (State) running around in the outfield with their shirts torn off and the biggest crowd ever at a college baseball game on campus. They got us on a walk-off. I actually was in that game in relief and didn’t do my job.
“So, I had this one circled for a while.”
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