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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ferguson, Smith Go Yard In 7-3 Win Over Tennessee
4/3/2010 | Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. - Tim Ferguson and Matt Smith both hit home runs Friday night, powering the Rebels past the Volunteers as No. 11 Ole Miss (21-6, 5-2 SEC) defeated Tennessee (13-14, 0-7 SEC) by a score of 7-3 in the series opener.
Drew Pomeranz (5-0) picked up the win as he worked 7.0 innings and held the Volunteers to three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. The southpaw walked six batters on the night.
Tennessee starter Bryan Morgado (2-3) suffered the loss as he gave up six runs on 10 hits with four walks and seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.
Kevin Mort was big at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two runs scored as the Rebels tallied 13 hits in the outing.
"Pomeranz wasn't at his best tonight, but to not have his best stuff and stay in there until the eighth inning and only give up three runs and five hits shows how good he really is," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "[Bryan] Morgado was terrific for them and was as good as anybody we have seen. Tim Ferguson made the adjustment in the box and was able to hit a home run. He is the kind of player that puts the others at ease and is able to play relaxed on a big stage. [Kevin] Mort had a tremendous night with his four hits and has given us a significant spark in the bottom of the lineup."
Ole Miss got on the board in the second inning, scoring a run when Matt Snyder crossed the plate on a grounder to second from David Phillips with two men on. Snyder walked before moving to third on a single from Zach Miller. Snyder scored on the Phillips grounder to short that resulted in a double play, but pushed Snyder across the plate to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.
Ole Miss added to the lead in the third when Matt Snyder again came up big, drawing a bases loaded walk to score Mort. The Rebels pushed a second run across a batter later when Alex Yarbrough crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly to center field from Miller that put Ole Miss on top 3-0.
Tennessee answered in the fourth, using a bases loaded single from Matt Duffy to cut the lead to 3-2 as two runs scored.
A single run in the fifth on a solo home run from right fielder Chris Fritts evened the score at three runs each.
Ole Miss wasted no time in snatching the lead back, however, as Matt Smith opened the bottom half of the inning with his fifth home run of the season - a solo shot to left field that put the Rebels in front 4-3. It was a lead that Ole Miss would never relinquish.
Mort came up with a two-out single in the sixth inning before Tim Ferguson hit his fourth home run of the year to push the Rebels out to a 6-3 lead.
The Rebels scored the final run of the night in the seventh inning when Miller scored on a single to right from Taylor Hightower. Miller singled with one out before moving to second on a groundout to first from Phillips to get into position to score on the Hightower hit.
Ole Miss and Tennessee will return to action on Saturday when the two teams play the second game of the weekend series at 4 p.m. at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field. Senior right-hander Aaron Barrett is slated to take the mound for the Rebels, while Tennessee is expected to counter with right-hander Stephen McCray.
