The University of Mississippi Athletics
Sunday, April 14
Oxford, Miss.
1:30 PM
Ole Miss
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Mississippi State
22-14, 0
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Mississippi State
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Ole Miss
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14
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Baseball Run Rules No. 22 Mississippi State for Sunday Series Win
4/14/2024 | Baseball
BY JEFF ROBERSON
OXFORD, Miss. – Right-hander Mason Nichols drew the Sunday start for the Rebels and pitched superbly into the seventh inning as Ole Miss (20-16, 5-10 SEC) defeated Mississippi State (22-14, 7-8 SEC) 14-2 at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.
It was the Rebels' largest win over the Bulldogs since April 9, 1960. It was also the most runs they have put up on their rivals since May 2, 2010. The win gave Ole Miss its first series win over Mississippi State since 2015.
The game ended after seven innings by run rule. After Ole Miss led 11-2 in the seventh inning, it was Will Furniss who ended the contest with a three-run homer to left center after Andrew Fischer reached with a walk and Ethan Groff had doubled down the left field line. Scoring on Groff's double, to give Ole Miss a nine-run advantage, were Eli Berch, Brayden Randle, and Luke Hill who had each gotten aboard on singles.
In the early going, it was Nichols who set the tone. The veteran pitcher got through the top of the first inning allowing only a single, Ole Miss got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first with two runs. Andrew Fischer singled with two outs, and Ethan Lege homered to left and into the visiting bullpen for a 2-0 Rebel lead.
After a three-up, three-down top of the second for Nichols, Ole Miss added another run in the bottom of the inning. Campbell Smithwick and Eli Berch with back-to-back singles were followed by a Brayden Randle fly ball to center field which got Smithwick home. It was 3-0 Rebels.
State got a run in the top of the third on a Hunter Hines double which allowed David Mershon to score after he reached on a fielder's choice. Ole Miss added a run in the bottom of the third on Jackson Ross ground out that scored Fischer who had reached on a base hit up the middle.
A solo homer by Lege, his second of the game and 11th of the season, to lead off the bottom of the fifth made it 5-1 Ole Miss, and the Rebels would score three more in the sixth. Hill and Groff singled, followed by a Fischer base hit which scored Hill. A fly out to center by Ross scored Fischer. It was 8-1 Rebels.
After Gunnar Dennis relieved Nichols with one out and one on and then finished things up in the top of the seventh, the Rebels ended the game with six runs in the bottom of the frame.
Nichols is 4-0 on the season with the win, while MSU starter Evan Siary (0-3) got the loss.
The Rebels out-hit State on Sunday 16-4 and combined with Saturday's 14 hits had 30 for the past two games. They also scored 24 runs in those two outings.
Furniss was 3-for-4 with four RBI Sunday, while Fischer was 3-for-4 with one RBI. Hill, Groff, Lege, and Berch each had two hits in the finale. No MSU batter had more than one hit, and the Bulldogs had only seven baserunners in the Sunday game.
Ole Miss now travels to Jonesboro, Ark., to play Arkansas State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss baseball on X at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Facebook.com/OleMissBaseball, on Instagram at Instagram.com/officialolemissbsb and on TikTok at @olemissbsb. Also, follow head coach Mike Bianco on X at @CoachMikeBianco.
OXFORD, Miss. – Right-hander Mason Nichols drew the Sunday start for the Rebels and pitched superbly into the seventh inning as Ole Miss (20-16, 5-10 SEC) defeated Mississippi State (22-14, 7-8 SEC) 14-2 at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.
It was the Rebels' largest win over the Bulldogs since April 9, 1960. It was also the most runs they have put up on their rivals since May 2, 2010. The win gave Ole Miss its first series win over Mississippi State since 2015.
The game ended after seven innings by run rule. After Ole Miss led 11-2 in the seventh inning, it was Will Furniss who ended the contest with a three-run homer to left center after Andrew Fischer reached with a walk and Ethan Groff had doubled down the left field line. Scoring on Groff's double, to give Ole Miss a nine-run advantage, were Eli Berch, Brayden Randle, and Luke Hill who had each gotten aboard on singles.
In the early going, it was Nichols who set the tone. The veteran pitcher got through the top of the first inning allowing only a single, Ole Miss got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first with two runs. Andrew Fischer singled with two outs, and Ethan Lege homered to left and into the visiting bullpen for a 2-0 Rebel lead.
After a three-up, three-down top of the second for Nichols, Ole Miss added another run in the bottom of the inning. Campbell Smithwick and Eli Berch with back-to-back singles were followed by a Brayden Randle fly ball to center field which got Smithwick home. It was 3-0 Rebels.
State got a run in the top of the third on a Hunter Hines double which allowed David Mershon to score after he reached on a fielder's choice. Ole Miss added a run in the bottom of the third on Jackson Ross ground out that scored Fischer who had reached on a base hit up the middle.
A solo homer by Lege, his second of the game and 11th of the season, to lead off the bottom of the fifth made it 5-1 Ole Miss, and the Rebels would score three more in the sixth. Hill and Groff singled, followed by a Fischer base hit which scored Hill. A fly out to center by Ross scored Fischer. It was 8-1 Rebels.
After Gunnar Dennis relieved Nichols with one out and one on and then finished things up in the top of the seventh, the Rebels ended the game with six runs in the bottom of the frame.
Nichols is 4-0 on the season with the win, while MSU starter Evan Siary (0-3) got the loss.
The Rebels out-hit State on Sunday 16-4 and combined with Saturday's 14 hits had 30 for the past two games. They also scored 24 runs in those two outings.
Furniss was 3-for-4 with four RBI Sunday, while Fischer was 3-for-4 with one RBI. Hill, Groff, Lege, and Berch each had two hits in the finale. No MSU batter had more than one hit, and the Bulldogs had only seven baserunners in the Sunday game.
Ole Miss now travels to Jonesboro, Ark., to play Arkansas State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss baseball on X at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Facebook.com/OleMissBaseball, on Instagram at Instagram.com/officialolemissbsb and on TikTok at @olemissbsb. Also, follow head coach Mike Bianco on X at @CoachMikeBianco.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nichols, Mason (4-0)
L: Siary, Evan (0-3)
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Batting:
2B: Hines, Hunter 1
RBI: Hines, Hunter 1 ; Kohler, Logan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mershon, David 1 ; Chance, Bryce 1
Batting:
2B: Groff, Ethan 1
HR: Lege, Ethan 2 ; Furniss, Will 1
RBI: Groff, Ethan 3 ; Fischer, Andrew 1 ; Lege, Ethan 3 ; Furniss, Will 4 ; Ross, Jackson 2 ; Randle, Brayden 1
SF: Ross, Jackson 1 ; Randle, Brayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hill, Luke 2 ; Groff, Ethan 2 ; Fischer, Andrew 4 ; Lege, Ethan 2 ; Furniss, Will 1 ; Smithwick, Campbell 1 ; Berch, Eli 1 ; Randle, Brayden 1
SB: Hill, Luke 1 ; Groff, Ethan 1
HBP: Smithwick, Campbell 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
4
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
4
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
LHP
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