The Mississippi State Bulldogs needed some late-game heroics to beat the Ole Miss Rebels on Friday night. Saturday’s game was much less dramatic, but the end result was the same.
Tomas Valincius tossed 5.0 innings of 3-hit, 0-run ball as the Bulldogs beat the Rebels 6-1 to clinch this weekend’s series. Valincius struck out 9 hitters and walked only 2, improving his ERA to a miniscule 0.91 and personal record to 6-0.
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Offensively, Mississippi State belted 3 home runs. Catcher Kevin Milewski took Ole Miss starter Hudson Calhoun deep in the third inning to stake the Bulldogs to a 1-0 lead. In the sixth inning, Jacob Parker and Gehrig Frei went back-to-back to give Mississippi State a 6-0 edge. That advantage proved to be more than enough, due to Valincius and the Bulldogs’ bullpen combining to strike out 14 batters.
Mississippi State (23-4, 6-2 SEC) has won 7 straight games since dropping a series at then-No. 5 Arkansas. The Rebels, meanwhile, have lost 3 consecutive contests after last weekend’s series win over previously No. 15 Kentucky. Ole Miss (19-9, 3-5 SEC) entered the D1 Baseball top 25 because of their victories over the Wildcats.
The Bulldogs and Rebels round out their series this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. E.T. (SEC Network).
