In a season full of horrible and ironic ways to lose a game, Mississippi State added “blowing a five-run lead in the ninth inning to your biggest rival” to a long, long list.

Ole Miss scored five runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, then won it on Nic Perkins’ RBI single in the 10th to beat the Bulldogs 8-7 on Saturday and complete a three-game sweep.

It’s Ole Miss’ first sweep of its in-state rival since 2010. The Rebels also won the Governor’s Cup game against MSU, which does not count in the Southeastern Conference standings.

“These are the types of games that we used to win as well as anybody in the nation, like 98 percent of the time,” Mississippi State coach John Cohen said. “We have to find a way to get back to doing that. Right now, these kids have a hard time putting this type of game away.”

Mississippi State (24-27, 8-19 SEC) has lost 14 of its last 17 games. It dropped to 13th in the SEC standings, two games in the loss column behind Georgia and Tennessee for the final berth in the conference tournament.

The Bulldogs finish the regular season with a series at Tennessee (20-24, 8-17) beginning on Thursday.

Ole Miss (28-24, 14-13) meanwhile, won for the seventh time in 10 games and season-best fourth in a row to clinch a tournament berth.

Michael Smith had an RBI triple and scored on a single by John Holland to give Mississippi State a 7-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Mississippi State pitchers Austin Sexton and Zac Houston combined to walk three batters and hit another in the bottom of the ninth, and Colby Bortles delivered a two-run single to tie the game at 7.

In the bottom of the 10th inning, pinch-runner Tate Blackman scored on Perkins’ chopper up the middle to give the Rebels their third extra-inning win of the season.

“I knew it was getting through at contact,” Perkins said. “I’m pretty good at chopping the ball and getting it to bounce over the infielder’s head. When I hit that one with the infield in, I knew it was going over his head.”

Sikes Orvis hit a pair of solo home runs earlier in the game for Ole Miss, and finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored.

Sophomore Wyatt Short (4-1) earned the win after pitching a perfect 10th inning that included two strikeouts. The victory completed a fantastic weekend for the southpaw as Short also recorded saves in the two previous games against the in-state rival.

“I think that’s one of the things that will get lost today in all the excitement was how special (Short) was this weekend,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “Two saves and a win, pitching three days in a row against your archrival, and being a Mississippi kid, what a terrific weekend for Wyatt.”