Razorbacks roll Rebels in series finale
Published 11:50 am Monday, April 23, 2012
Dominic Ficociello had four RBIs to lead Arkansas past Ole Miss 11-3 in the finale of a three-game Southeastern Conference series.
The Razorbacks (28-12, 9-9 SEC) took a 7-0 lead Sunday, thanks in part to Ficociello’s run-scoring doubles in the first and second innings. Ole Miss (27-13, 9-9) rallied in the third on Matt Snyder’s RBI single and scored two more times in the seventh and ninth innings, but the Razorbacks had already put the game out of reach.
The series win put Ole Miss two games behind SEC West-leading LSU, which lost two out of three games at Kentucky. Ficociello went 3-for-4 and Jake Wise had two RBIs for Arkansas. Snyder and Sikes Orvis each had an RBI for the Rebels.
“It was a tough day for us and a good day for them,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “We swung it all right, but we didn’t get that key base hit to score a lot of runs to get back into the game. They swung it well throughout the game.”
Cade Lynch (2-1) earned the win, allowing three hits and one run in three innings of relief for Arkansas.
Starter Sam Smith suffered the loss, allowing six hits and five runs in one inning for Ole Miss, which will play at Memphis on Tuesday and travel to Starkville to take on archrival Mississippi State in a three-game set starting Friday at 7.
Southern Miss 2, Memphis 1
Isaac Rodriguez singled through the left side to score Ashley Graeter for the winning run in the eighth as Southern Miss defeated Memphis (17-23, 6-9 C-USA) in the finale of a three-game Conference USA series at Pete Taylor Park. Eight runs total were scored in the series, which was the fewest for Southern Miss in a C-USA series since joining the league in 1996.
Southern Miss (23-16, 7-5) earned its first series sweep since last season thanks to clutch work on the mound. Mason Robbins, in his first collegiate pitching start, was stellar. He limited Memphis to a run on five hits — striking out two — over 51⁄3 innings. Cameron Giannini and Bradley Roney finished off the game out of the bullpen for USM.
Southern Miss will play Mississippi State at Trustmark Park Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before traveling to Charleston, W. Va. to take on Marshall in a three-game C-USA series starting Friday at 1:05 p.m.
Kentucky 7, LSU 6
Second-ranked Kentucky erased 5-4 deficit with a three-run sixth inning and the Wildcats hung on for a victory over top-ranked LSU at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Kentucky improved to 35-6 overall and 13-5 in the SEC. LSU is 32-9 overall and one game behind the Wildcats in the overall SEC standings with a 12-5 league mark.
Kentucky reliever Tim Peterson (3-0) was credited with the victory as he entered the game in the sixth inning and worked 11⁄3 scoreless frames, allowing just one walk.
Alex Phillips earned his fourth save of the year, limiting LSU to two hits over the final two innings and allowing an unearned run.
LSU reliever Joey Bourgeois (1-2) was charged with the loss after relieving starter Aaron Nola to begin the sixth inning. He surrendered two runs on two hits in 1⁄3 inning.
LSU leftfielder Raph Rhymes increased his batting average to .500 (70-for-140) as he was 4-for-4 on Sunday with a double, a homer and three RBIs.
LSU will host Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and host Georgia for a three-game SEC series starting Friday at 7 p.m.
The series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. will be on ESPN2.