Mississippi baseball roundup: Ole Miss, MSU, Delta State win big in series finales

Published 7:44 pm Sunday, April 3, 2022

LEXINGTON, Ky. — After struggling to string together hits in the first two games of the series, Ole Miss’ hitters found their footing on Sunday.

T.J. McCants homered and drove in three runs, and the Rebels racked up 13 hits as they overpowered Kentucky 10-1 in the finale of a three-game series.

The Rebels (19-8, 4-5 Southeastern Conference) scored four runs on a total of nine hits while splitting the first two games with Kentucky (18-11, 3-6). The scored six runs in the fifth inning alone on Sunday, including home runs by Tim Elko and Jacob Gonzalez, to take an 8-0 lead.

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Jack Washburn (4-1) took care of things on the mound for Ole Miss. He started and pitched five innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks. He struck out six batters.

Jack Dougherty and John Gaddis followed with five strikeouts in a combined four innings of scoreless relief.

Kentucky’s only run came on a solo home run by Chase Estep in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Ole Miss bounced back from being swept against Tennessee last weekend by winning its second SEC road series of the season. The Rebels will host Alabama next weekend in Oxford, but first will travel to Pearl to play in-state rival Southern Miss Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Trustmark Park.

Mississippi State 5, Arkansas 3
Luke Hancock and Logan Tanner both hit RBI singles in the top of the 12th inning, and Jackson Fristoe turned in a lockdown performance out of the bullpen as Mississippi State (17-12, 4-5 SEC) defeated Arkansas (21-5, 7-2) in Sunday’s series finale in Fayetteville.

Fristoe (3-2) pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win. He allowed two hits and one walk, but worked out of an inherited jam in the ninth inning and retired the Razorbacks in order in the 12th.

Mississippi State left runners on base in the 10th and 11th innings before finally breaking through in the 12th. A hit batter and a walk put two runners on with two outs, and then Hancock singled in the go-ahead run.

Tanner followed with another single to bring in an insurance run that made it 5-3.

Hancock and Tanner both homered earlier in the game as well. Hancock finished 3-for-6 with two RBIs, and Tanner was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. R.J. Yeager also hit a solo home run, in the third inning.

Brayden Webb and Zack Gregory hit solo home runs for Arkansas.

Mississippi State salvaged the third game of the series after losing the first two. The Bulldogs will return home to play Tennessee-Martin Tuesday at 6 p.m., and then LSU visits Dudy Noble Field for a three-game SEC series beginning Friday at 7 p.m. Friday’s game will be televised on SEC Network.

Grambling 14, Alcorn State 4
Cameron Bufford went 2-for-4 with a double, four RBIs and two runs scored, Terry Burrell had three hits and scored three runs, and Grambling (11-17, 6-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) finished a series sweep of Alcorn State (1-19, 1-8) Sunday in Lorman.

Tyler Daniels had three RBIs for Alcorn, and Jermel Ford had three hits and scored one run.

Grambling outscored Alcorn 57-15 in the three-game series. The Tigers won Saturday’s middle game 32-10. Alcorn has allowed 10 runs or more in 19 of its 20 games this season.

Alabama State 8, Jackson State 4
Corey King tripled and scored two runs, Jabronski Williams drove in two runs, and Alabama State (15-13, 7-2 SWAC) finished a three-game sweep of Jackson State (13-15, 1-8).

Alabama State relievers Osvaldo Mendez, Luis Rodrguez and Shadai Colon combined to allowed only one run in 4 1/3 innings.

Jatavis Melton, Asher Akridge and Ty Hill had two hits apiece for Jackson State, which lost its third conference series in a row.

Bethune-Cookman 17, Mississippi Valley State 13
Bethune-Cookman scored 14 runs in a four-inning span to erase a 10-4 deficit, and went on to beat Mississippi Valley State in Sunday’s series finale.

Brian Perez went 2-for-3 with four RBIs for Bethune Cookman (13-15, 7-2 SWAC), while Irvin Escobar homered and drove in three runs.

Dreylin Holmes was 3-for-5 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored for Valley (9-11, 3-6).

Delta State 12, Union (Tenn.) 5
Delta State scored 11 unanswered runs — eight of them in the seventh inning — to overcome a four-run deficit and complete a three-game sweep of Union (Tenn.).

Hayden White, Kirkland Trahan and Hayden Cooper all homered for Delta State (19-9, 12-5 Gulf South Conference). Cooper and Trahan bookended the big seventh-inning rally with a pair of two-run home runs.

White finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Trahan was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, and Cooper had three hits and drove in three runs.

Oglethorpe 10, Millsaps 7
Sam Mills hit a two-run double during a five-run rally in the fourth inning that carried Oglethorpe past Millsaps College (14-14, 4-8 Southern Athletic Association).

Jackson Ware, Case Page and Avery Brock drove in two runs apiece for Millsaps. Brock hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning.