USM beats Ole Miss for sixth straight time

Published 10:20 am Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Whether it’s in Hattiesburg, Oxford or Pearl, one thing seems certain these days — Southern Miss owns Ole Miss on the baseball field.

Matt Durst scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh inning, and Southern Miss continued to dominate its in-state rival by winning 6-5 at Trustmark Park.

The Golden Eagles (18-11-1) swept the season series from the Rebels (16-17). They’ve won six straight overall in the series, and nine of the last 10.

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This one was a bit tougher than most.

The teams traded runs at a frantic pace in the early going. Southern Miss took the lead on an RBI double by Taylor Braley in the top of the first, then Ole Miss scored twice in the bottom half to go in front.

USM regained the lead, 4-2 after 2 1/2 innings, only to let Ole Miss regroup and move ahead 5-4 on a two-run double by Sikes Orvis in the bottom of the fifth.

An RBI single by Dylan Burdeaux tied it in the sixth inning. Durst led off the seventh with a double, moved to third on a ground out, then scored when Drake Robison threw a wild pitch to put USM ahead 6-5.

Southern Miss relievers Kirk McCarty and Ryan Milton combined to allow only one hit over the last three innings to maintain the lead and the win.

McCarty (1-0) allowed one walk in 2 2/3 innings. Milton pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save of the season.

Braley finished the game 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for Southern Miss, Tim Lynch had three hits, and Michael Sterling was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.

For Ole Miss, Connor Cloyd went 3-for-5 and scored twice. Colby Bortles was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Memphis 7, Mississippi State 1

Tucker Tubbs and Chris Carrier hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning, former Clinton and Hinds Community College star Alex Gunn threw seven strong innings, and Memphis (21-8) beat Mississippi State (21-14).

Mississippi State lost its third consecutive midweek game. It has lost 14 of 22 overall since the beginning of March.

Gunn allowed one run on three hits before giving way to the bullpen. He walked three and struck out one to outduel MSU’s Austin Sexton.

Sexton went 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks.