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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
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Mississippi St
Mississippi State Downs No. 20 Ole Miss 6-3
5/11/2001 | Baseball
May 11, 2001
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OXFORD, Miss. - Mississippi State clinched a spot in next week's Southeastern Conference Tournament with a 6-3 win over No. 20 Ole Miss Friday evening in front of 5,137 at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field. The crowd was the third largest in the history of the stadium that opened in 1989, and four of the top five attendance figures have come against Mississippi State.
The victory was just the Bulldogs' second in their last seven SEC games, while the loss was Ole Miss' fifth straight SEC defeat.
Freshman lefth-hander Paul Maholm (6-4) went 7 1/3 innings in earning the win. He scattered 11 hits and walked none in allowing three runs, while striking out six.
Junior right-hander Pete Montrenes (9-4) was charged with five runs, four earned, on seven hits and five walks in eight innings of work in suffering the loss. He also fanned seven.
"It was heck of a ball game with two outstanding pitchers going tonight," said Mississippi State head coach Pat McMahon. "(Paul) Maholm found his rhythm and made some quality pitches. It was a great team effort and it ensured us of a place in the SEC Tournament."
Senior Jon Knott went 3-for-5 to lead the Bulldogs at the plate, despite Mississippi State being out-hit 13-9 by Ole Miss.
First baseman Matthew Brinson went 2-for-2 and drove in three runs. His two-run single in the fourth inning tied the game at 2-2 and he later added a RBI single in the ninth to make it 6-3.
"You have to tip your hat to Mississippi State tonight," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "I thought we competed hard but they (the Bulldogs) did the things needed to win tonight. They got the clutch hits when they needed them, and Maholm made some big pitches to get out innings when he had opportunities to score."
Freshman Matt Tolbert went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead Ole Miss.
Ole Miss took a 2-0 lead, scoring a run in both first and second innings. Mississippi State then rallied for three runs in the fourth, highlighted by Brinson's two-run single. Steve Gendron followed Brinson with a sac fly to left, scoring Brinson, who advanced to third on a throwing error by Rebel catcher Charlie Waite after stealing second, to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead.
Game two of the series is set for 6:30 p.m., Saturday evening at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field. Junior right-hander Tanner Brock (7-1, 3.08) is scheduled to start for the Bulldogs against Ole Miss freshman right-hander Adam Yates (7-1, 2.43).
Mississippi State 6, Ole Miss 3 (May 11, 2001 at Oxford, MS)----------------------------------------------------------------------Mississippi State... 000 310 011 - 6 9 1 (31-20, 16-12 SEC)Ole Miss............ 110 000 100 - 3 13 3 (35-18-1, 16-12 SEC)----------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers: Mississippi State - Maholm, Wooten(8). Ole Miss - P. Montrenes, G. Morris(9).Win-Maholm(6-4) Save-Wooten(3) Loss-P. Montrenes(9-4) T-2:56 A-5137Game notes:NATIONAL RANKINGS: UM- #20 CB, #22 BA, #23 BW/ESPN, MS- NR.UM 5 straight SEC losses ... Lafferty (UM) career-best 12-game hittingstreak ... Tonight's attendance is the third largest in Oxford-UniversityStadium/Swayze Field history ... MSU clinches SEC tourney spot.
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