For the second time in as many days, No. 11 Ole Miss ran into a complete-game performance from an opposing pitcher. Austin Sexton limited the Rebels (20-7, 2-6 SEC) to four hits as Mississippi State (20-7-1, 6-2 SEC) claimed Saturday afternoon’s rivalry matchup, 6-2.
Sophomore Tate Blackman went 2-for-4 with one RBI for his team-leading 10th multi-hit game of the season. Cameron Dishon added a pinch-hit double, and J.B. Woodman tallied another hit with a runner in scoring position.
Out of the bullpen, redshirt-freshman Brady Feigl tossed a career-high 5.1 innings. The right hander tossed five complete scoreless innings before allowing a pair of runs and exiting the game. Feigl relieved starter Chad Smith (4-3), who gave up four runs on five hits through 1.1 innings. Freshman Connor Green pitched the final 1.1 innings, retiring five of the six batters he faced and not allowing a run.
Along with Sexton’s outing, Mississippi State had four Bulldogs tally multi-hit games. Freshman Jake Mangum led the way, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and a solo home run.
MSU scored the game’s first four runs. Mangum homered in the first before three Bulldogs crossed the plate in the second to lift Smith out of the game. Coming in with the bases loaded and only one out, Feigl forced a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play to get the Rebels out of the jam.
Much like the series opener, both teams’ bats went silent in the middle innings. Feigl continued his impressive relief performance, keeping the Bulldogs off the board for four consecutive innings. However, the Ole Miss offense was limited at the plate as well, and the game remained 4-0 through six.
The Bulldogs added a pair of runs in the seventh to increase their lead, but Ole Miss got the two runs back in the top of the eighth. Dishon started the scoring frame with a one-out pinch-hit double. Connor Cloyd followed his fellow senior by reaching first on a dropped flyball in center field. A groundout by Will Golsan plated Dishon for the Rebels’ first run of the game, and Blackman’s single later in the inning scored Cloyd. However, Sexton eventually got out of the jam and retired the Rebels in the ninth to lock up the contest.
Ole Miss will look to salvage a win in the series finale Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Redshirt-junior Sean Johnson will get the start to end the weekend. Fans can catch all the action on SECN+ as well as the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information
