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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Florida
Rebels' Ninth Inninng Rally Falls Short
3/17/2002 | Baseball
March 17, 2002
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Kevin Coleman coaxed Chad Sterbens to ground out to third with the tying run on second to allow No. 6 Florida escape with a 7-6 win over No. 10 Ole Miss Saturday afternoon in front of 4,638 at McKethan Stadium at Perry Field.
The win secures the Gators' first SEC series victory over Rebels since 1998, as Florida routed Ole Miss 24-5 in Friday night's series opener.
Trailing 7-3, the Rebels (13-5, 0-2 SEC) rallied for three runs in the ninth. After Drew Rogers fouled out to first to start the ninth, five consecutive batters reached base. Burney Hutchinson's RBI single made it 7-4 and Seth Smith followed with a bases loaded walk. Dustin Cliburn plated Ole Miss' final run of the game with a sac fly to right, leaving runners on first and second with two outs.
Coleman then came on in relief for Jamie Goldfarb and retired Sterbens to end the game and notch his second save of the year.
Ole Miss out-hit Florida 11-8 on the afternoon but defensive miscues cost the Rebels.
The Gators (17-3, 2-0 SEC) scored four runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead. Brian Rose led off with a single and Aaron Davidson reached on a bunt single that Sterbens allowed to roll fair. After Mark Kiger advanced the runners to second and third on a sac bunt, Mario Garza hit an infield pop up that landed between catcher Charlie Waite and first baseman Clint Farrar to load the bases.
Aaron Sobieraj then followed with a three-run triple to make it 3-0.
The Rebels answered with two in the fourth to cut it to 4-2 with a lead-off home run by Burney Hutchinson and a RBI single by Drew Rogers that scored Bryce Morrison.
Florida took advantage of two Ole Miss errors in the fifth to score two unearned runs to extend its lead to 6-2. After Chad Sterbens' solo home run made it 6-3, a two-out Rebel error led to another Gator run to make it 7-3.
Junior right-hander Alex Hart (6-0) worked into the ninth inning to earn the win. He allowed five runs on nine hits and three walks, and struck out three.
Junior J.R. Pickens (3-1) was charged with the loss, allowing seven runs, four earned, on eight hits and three walks, and striking out four in 6 2/3 innings.
Ole Miss will look to salvage the final game of the series Sunday at 11 a.m. (CST). The game will be carried on stations along the Ole Miss Radio Network and will be televised by the Sunshine Network.
Florida 7, Ole Miss 6 (Mar 16, 2002 at Gainesville, Fla.)----------------------------------------------------------------------Ole Miss............ 000 201 003 - 6 11 4 (13-5, 0-2 SEC)Florida............. 004 020 100 - 7 8 0 (17-3, 2-0 SEC)----------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers: Ole Miss - J. Pickens, A. Yates(7). Florida - Hart, Goldfarb(9), Coleman(9).Win-Hart(6-0) Save-Coleman(2) Loss-J. Pickens(3-1) T-2:32 A-4638HR UM - Hutchinson (4), C. Sterbens (1).Game notes:NATIONAL RANKINGS: UM- #10 CB, #10 BW/ESPN, #10 NCBWA, #15 BANATIONAL RANKINGS: FLA- #6 CB, #9 BW/ESPN, #12 BASmith (UM) 11-game hitting streak.Hutchinson (UM) tied for 5th on UM career list with 31.
