PEARL – (AP) Matt Snyder had three hits and drove in two runs, leading Mississippi to a 6-3 victory over Mississippi State on Tuesday night in the Governor’s Cup.
Snyder put the Rebels ahead with an RBI single in the first inning and added another in the eighth.
Ole Miss (25-12) sent nine batters to the plate in a four-run fourth inning, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. Austin Bousfield and Zack Kirksey both had RBI singles during the two-out rally, which was a welcome sign for a team that’s struggled to string together big innings in recent weeks.
“We haven’t done that in a while,” Snyder said. “So it’s good to get that back in our game.”
Freshman Hawtin Buchanan threw 2 2-3 scoreless innings of relief and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. He retired all eight batters he faced, striking out five.
Buchanan, who is from Biloxi, didn’t seem bothered by the announced crowd of 5,533 at Trustmark Park, which is always loud and boisterous because of the in-state rivalry. The 6-foot-8 right-hander routinely threw his fastball in the low-90s and mixed in an accurate breaking ball to keep the Bulldogs off balance in his longest outing of the season.
“Just electric – great stuff,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “It’s neat. It’s neat to watch a Mississippi kid run out and have his best game of the year in this game.”
Though Buchanan (1-0) was the star, the entire Ole Miss bullpen had a good day. Buchanan, Aaron Greenwood and Dylan Chavez combined to throw 5 1-3 scoreless innings, giving up just two hits while striking out 12.
Ole Miss’ Alex Yarbrough ripped a double in the eighth inning down the left-field line, extending his hitting streak to 16 games.
The two teams have split the six meetings in the Governor’s Cup series.
Mississippi State (21-16) had just six hits and struck out 16 times. The Bulldogs were also hurt by two errors.
“Obviously, if you strike out 16 times, you’re not going to win,” Mississippi State coach John Cohen said. “We got all the excuses in the world – kids are tired, bus trip, blah, blah, blah. There is no excuse. You got to focus and get it done. Our kids weren’t locked in. When they lights came on here, we were not prepared to play.”
Mississippi State’s Brandon Woodruff (0-1) took the loss. He gave up five runs on seven hits in 3 2-3 innings.
Tyler Fullerton was 2-for-4 with an RBI single. Luis Pollorena threw 5 1-3 innings of relief, giving up just one run on three hits and striking out five.
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