OLE MISS POWERS PAST LSU IN SERIES FINALE
BATON ROUGE, La. – In a
reversal of fortunes from the previous two nights, the Rebels proved to
be the team using power to win on Saturday, belting out four home runs
as No. 14 Ole Miss (36-20, 15-15 SEC) rallied to defeat No. 2 LSU
(48-8, 23-7 SEC) by a score of 11-9.
The Rebels got three-run
shots from Preston Overbey and Austin Anderson, combined with two-run
shots from Will Allen and Overbey to help power to the win. Ten of the
Rebels’ 11 runs came on home runs in the series finale.
Freshman
Matt Denny (2-1) picked up the win in relief, working 0.2 innings and
allowing one hit after entering the game in the sixth. Denny got the
Rebels out of the sixth before Ole Miss would plate five runs in the
seventh to take the lead it would never relinquish.
Senior Brett
Huber picked up his 12th save of the season, working the final 2.2 and
holding LSU off the board to give the Rebels the win. The 12 wins ties
Huber’s personal best for saves in a season set as a freshman in 2010.
He is one save shy of tying three-time All-America Stephen Head for the
single season save record.
Kevin Berry (4-1), who picked up the
win in relief the night before, took the loss for the Tigers as he
allowed three runs on four hits with a strikeout in 0.2 innings of
work. Berry entered the game in the seventh with two men on base and
gave up a three-run home run to Overbey in the first at bat and the
two-run home run to Allen two batters later as the Rebels grabbed the
lead.
“This was a big win today for so many reasons,” said Ole
Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “The biggest might be that it was a game
in which we had to fight back and keep swinging after falling behind
early. I’m proud of the guys for continuing to battle and fight today
after a tough loss last night. It’s big for us as we move forward and
look to the SEC Tournament next week and then the start of the NCAA
Tournament the following week.”
The Rebels got on the board first when Preston Overbey crushed a two-run shot over
the stands in left field to give Ole Miss the 2-0 lead in the second
inning. Andrew Mistone scored on the play, reaching on a single to open
the inning and taking second on a groundout from Orvis.
LSU
rallied in the third, using a single and then a well-executed
hit-and-run to put men at the corners to start things off. A strikeout
put the first out on the board before another hit-and-run through the
left side brought a run home and kept men at the corners. LSU then got
back-to-back singles to push two more runs home and take the 3-2 lead.
A
wild pitch moved a second man into scoring position before Chris Chinea
hit a sac fly to right to make it 4-2 in favor of the Tigers. A walk
put men at the corners again and the Rebels turned to the bullpen for
right-hander Chris Ellis.
The Tigers then got an RBI single and a two-RBI double to take the lead out to 7-2 before Ole Miss would get out of the inning.
Ole
Miss answered in a big way in the top of the fourth when Austin
Anderson drilled a three-run home run to right field to cut the lead to
7-5. Tanner Mathis and Auston Bousfield scored on the play after
drawing a pair of walks to reach base.
LSU took the lead back
out to four with a pair of runs in the sixth, but the Rebels had
different plans. Preston Overbey with a three-run shot and Will Allen
with a two-run shot gave Ole Miss the 10-9 lead at the stretch.
The
Tigers responded in the bottom of the inning, using a leadoff double to
put a man in scoring position. A sac bunt moved him to third and the
Rebels turned to the bullpen for Huber. The senior got a groundout and
a strikeout to end the inning and maintain the lead for Ole Miss
heading to the eighth.
The Rebels added a run in the eighth
inning when Stuart Turner scored from third on a double play ball.
Turner singled to open the inning and took third on a single to left
center from Mistone, setting up the score on the Orvis ground ball that
put Ole Miss up 11-9.
Huber then closed things out for the Rebels with a scoreless eighth and ninth as the Rebels picked up the win.
Ole
Miss will open the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Tuesday as the
sixth seed and will face the 11th-seeded Kentucky Wildcats at 9:30 a.m.
at Regions Park.
#14 Ole Miss 11, #2 LSU 9 (May 18, 2013 at Baton Rouge, La.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ole Miss............ 020 300 510 - 11 14 1 (36-20, 15-15 SEC) LSU................. 007 002 000 - 9 15 0 (48-8, 23-7 SEC) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers:
Ole Miss - Bobby Wahl; Chris Ellis(3); Tanner Bailey(6); Matt Denny(6);
Brett Huber(7) and Stuart Turner. LSU - Ryan Eades; Brent
Bonvillain(5); Kevin Berry(7); Hunter Newman(8) and Michael Barash;
Chris Chinea. Win-Matt Denny(2-1) Save-Brett Huber(12) Loss-Kevin Berry(4-1) T-3:44 A-11686 HR OM - Austin Anderson (3); Preston Overbey 2 (5); Will Allen (4).
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