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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Arkansas State
Rebels Race Past Arkansas State 7-1
3/17/2009 | Baseball
JONESBORO, Ark. -- Brett Bukvich came out and turned in another solid start for the Rebels, pitching 5.0 innings and holding the Red Wolves to only one unearned run on two hits as No. 12 Ole Miss (12-4) defeated Arkansas State (7-10) by a score of 7-1 on Tuesday.
Bukvich (3-0) picked up the win, the third of the season for the senior southpaw. Bukvich struck out seven and walked only three in the outing.
Kevin Mort led the Rebels at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored while Tim Ferguson also came up with a 3-for-4 night with a run scored. The Ole Miss offense was also solid on the base path as the Rebels came up with six steals on the night, including four from Ferguson.
Jacob Lee (0-1) suffered the loss for the Red Wolves as he allowed two runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts in 4.0 innings of work.
"It was all about the pitching tonight," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "We gave up only one unearned run. Offensively it wasn't a bad night either. Brett Bukvich was tremendous and gave us what we were looking for. That will move him into the Sunday role for this weekend against Alabama."
The Rebels got on the board in the second when Kevin Mort was hit in the head by a pitch with the bases loaded, pushing Logan Power across the plate and giving Ole Miss the lead. Power reached on a lead-off walk before a single to right center from David Phillips moved Power to third. Kyle Henson then drew a walk to load the bases before Mort was hit by the pitch. Henry then hit a sharp grounder up the middle, but a diving save by the Red Wolves second baseman ended the rally as Arkansas State got out of the inning.
Ole Miss added a second run in the third when Ferguson scored from third on a groundout to first by Phillips. Ferguson singled then stole second before moving to third on a balk.
Arkansas State got on the board in the fifth when Giovanni Garcia scored on a throwing error from the catcher trying to get him out on a steal at third. Garcia walked to open the inning before stealing second and then scoring on the throwing error on the steal of third.
Ole Miss extended he lead in the seventh when Kevin Mort scored on a passed ball. Mort singled to open the inning before moving to second on a throwing error from the pitcher on a sac bunt attempt from Henry, allowing Henry to reach base safely. Henry moved to second on the passed ball that scored Mort before moving to third on a fly out to right from Ferguson. Power then singled up the middle to score Henry and move the lead out to 4-1 in favor of Ole Miss.
Ole Miss pushed two more runs across in the eighth and a single run across in the ninth to move the Rebels out to a 7-1 lead. Kyle Barbeck would hold the Red Wolves off the board in both frames to secure he win for the Rebels.
Ole Miss will return to action on Wednesday when the Rebels host Memphis at 6:30 p.m. at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.
The Rebels will face Arkansas State for a third time this season when Ole Miss hosts the Red Wolves on March 30 at 6:30 p.m. at O-U Stadium.
