[4/14/04]JACKSON All it took was a little chilly weather to warm up Ole Miss’ bats.

The eighth-ranked Rebels battered six Mississippi State pitchers to claim a 10-4 win and the Mayor’s Trophy at Smith-Wills Stadium on Tuesday.

Eight of the nine Rebels in the lineup registered a hit, and six had two-hit games as Ole Miss pounded out 15 hits. It was the first time the Rebels had scored 10 or more runs since a 12-0 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on March 31.

“We hadn’t done that in a long time,” said former Warren Central star Brian Pettway, who finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. “Coach told us before the game he wanted double-digit hits and double-digit runs, and today we got it.”

Pettway’s RBI single in the seventh inning tied the game at 4, and Charlie Babineaux followed with an RBI sacrifice fly that gave the Rebels the lead for good.

While the game didn’t count in the Southeastern Conference standings, it was still important to the players.

“It’s Mississippi State, of course we’re not going to take it lightly,” Ole Miss starting pitcher Brae Wright said. “It’s always good to take one from them.”

Ole Miss (27-6, 8-4) jumped on Bulldog starter Todd Doolittle to take a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Barry Gunther doubled and scored on a passed ball, and Stephen Head and Pettway each knocked in a run.

“Their pitcher came out and he was throwing strikes. We just couldn’t get to him off the bat,” Pettway said. “But as soon as we got a couple hits and got going for a little while, we started knocking the ball around.”

On the other side, Wright held on for three scoreless innings before faltering as Mississippi State (21-12, 5-7) notched four runs across three innings.

Brad Jones picked up an RBI single in the fourth, Jeffrey Rea added an RBI single in the fifth, and a pair of errors led to scores in the sixth as the Bulldogs took a 4-3 lead.

“This was my first time to throw in a while,” said Wright, who hadn’t pitched since April 3. “I came out wanting to throw strikes and just get a feel for pitching again.

“Today our offense really took control of the game.”

Entering for Doolittle in the fifth, Brooks Dunn held the Rebels scoreless for two innings before giving way to Josh Johnson in the seventh. Johnson pitched to two batters, allowing a single, and MSU coach Ron Polk wasted no time in going to his lockdown closer.

Saunders Ramsey entered at 4-0 with a 0.68 ERA and hadn’t allowed a run in SEC play. But the right-handed sidewinder struggled against Ole Miss’ lefties as the Rebels rallied for four hits and three runs.

“If one of those is caught then maybe we get a double play and the game is in better control than we had it, but it wasn’t a bad outing,” Polk said. “With Ole Miss’ left-handed lineup four lefties and three switches it’s tough on Saunders being a right-hander, drop-down guy.”

Jeremy Zick came in during the sixth inning and shut the door for the victory. He got out of the seventh, 1-2-3, and struck out the side in the eighth.

The Rebels, meanwhile added a run in the top of the eighth, and three more in the ninth.

“We hadn’t been getting that many hits in one game,” Pettway said. “Luckily it came in this game here against our archrivals.”

The game was also a warmup for both teams, who each have important SEC series on the horizon.

Mississippi State hosts Florida (26-10, 6-6) for three crucial games as it tries to climb to third in the Western Division.

Ole Miss faces Arkansas State tonight at 6:30 before preparing for a weekend series against No. 17 Tennessee (29-5, 9-3).

“We’ve got to produce more runs and put some innings together like we did tonight,” Rebels coach Mike Bianco said. “We need more multiple-run innings like we had earler in the season.”