From staff reports

 

Wes Rea went from zero to hero in the span of a few innings Tuesday night.

The big slugging first baseman went 2-for-4, including a key two-run double that gave Mississippi State the lead for good, and the Bulldogs went on to beat Ole Miss 8-3 in the annual Governor’s Cup game at Trustmark Park.

Rea had had just two hits in his last nine games against Southeastern Conference opponents and was benched in Sunday’s series finale against Missouri. After going hitless in his first two at-bats Tuesday, he ripped a double down the left field line to bring in a pair of runs in the sixth inning, then singled and scored a run in the eighth.

“When you’re going through a slump, you can say you’re going through a slump, but you’re also doing some things mechanically,” Rea said. “I feel like I wasn’t getting the barrel there. Tonight I emphasized that I’m going to get the barrel there and try to hit the ball to left field, and it helped tonight.”

Mississippi State lost two out of three to Ole Miss in their conference series in Starkville two weeks ago, but has now won five consecutive games.

After the second loss to Ole Miss, a 12-2 blowout, players held a meeting that they said changed the attitude of the team. The Bulldogs (27-15) blasted Alcorn State in a midweek game last Tuesday, swept an SEC series from Missouri, and will head into Thursday’s series opener against Texas A&M with a lot of positive momentum.

“After the Ole Miss series, we put our foot down and said we’re not playing our brand of baseball. What do you want to do? We started playing our brand of baseball and we’ve been doing that ever since then,” Rea said.

Ole Miss (30-12) might want to consider having a similar meeting.

It has lost three of its last four since taking the series from Mississippi State. The Rebels led 3-2 after 5 1/2 innings Tuesday, but only had three hits in the game.

“We had opportunities, but we couldn’t get that big hit. They did the opposite on their side and got the big hits tonight and the two-out RBI,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “Tonight was that game that we really haven’t played all season. We’ve been aggressive and got big two-out hits. On the mound we’ve been able to make the pitch and get off the field. We didn’t do that tonight.”

Mississippi State starter Lucas Laster allowed three runs, one earned in 5 1/3 innings. He also hit six batters — three of them in the sixth inning — and uncorked a pair of wild pitches.

All those led to runs, which helped Ole Miss get the lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

State, though, tied the game on a run-scoring fielder’s choice by C.T. Bradford in its half of the sixth, then took the lead for good on Rea’s two-out double.

Bradford brought in another run on a fielder’s choice in the seventh, and Alex Detz added an RBI single to make it 7-3. MSU’s final run came when Rea scored on Brett Pirtle’s RBI single in the eighth.

Pirtle finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, and Gavin Collins was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Rea was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

“It really was a team win,” Mississippi State coach John Cohen said. “I think since last Monday our kids have really come together and I hope we can stay on a roll here.”

 

 

 

USM 6, Alabama 3

Midweek wins don’t always mean a lot, but Tuesday was an exception for Southern Miss.

Mason Robbins went 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs as the Golden Eagles (25-17) beat Alabama (28-13), which is in first place in the rugged Southeastern Conference.

It’s USM’s second win this season over the Crimson Tide.

“We earned a win (tonight) against a very good club who has been playing very well here of late,” Southern Miss coach Scott Berry said. “With this being the 100th meeting between the two teams for Southern Miss to win this makes you feel good.”

Robbins had RBI singled in the fourth and sixth innings, then belted a two-run homer in the eighth to put Southern Miss ahead 6-1.

Alabama scored twice in the bottom of the ninth, but never got the tying run to the plate. The Tide left 10 runners on base in the game.

Cameron Giannini (3-2) allowed one run and struck out five in 5 2/3 innings to get the win for USM.

“Overall, it was a poor performance, our energy level was low tonight and we set a bad tone,” Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said. “Mason (Robbins) had a heck of a night for them, and when you play good opponents like Southern Miss those things can’t happen.”