On a weird weather-hindered weekend in Starkville, Mississippi, the Mississippi State Bulldogs welcomed Ole Miss to Dudy Noble for the three-game battle royale for the ultimate bragging rights for Mississippi.

Ole Miss won game one of the doubleheader on Friday 10-4 before the Bulldogs responded with a 4-1 victory over the Rebels under the bright lights of Dudy Noble. Setting the scene for a wild Saturday game three would decide the fate of the baseball side of the rivalry until next season.

As the rain let up, the tarp was pulled off the field for a pivotal game three between the Bulldogs and Rebels, and college baseball’s greatest rivalry was ready for the spotlight as both schools looked to etch their chapter in the latest sub-story of the rivalry.

If the rivalry needed any extra juice added to the deciding game in game three, Mason Nichols would start for the Rebels, while Karson Ligon would start for Mississippi State. Nichols gave the Rebels 3.2 innings, giving up eight hits and four runs, with four strikeouts. On the other end, Ligon delivered five complete innings, giving up three hits and one run while striking out seven Ole Miss batters.

Mississippi State would strike first on Saturday night off the bat of Ace Reese, who scored the first run of the game in the bottom half of the third inning with a base hit. Issac Humphrey would give the Rebels a run in the 4th with a double. Mississippi State would retake the lead with three runs in the bottom of the 4th and two other runs in the bottom of the 5th inning to make it 6-2. Ole Miss would add a little tension with a run scored in the top half of the 7th inning to make it 6-3 in favor of the Bulldogs. Ole Miss would add two more runs in the top of the 8th off the bat of Collin Reuter with a two-run shot to cut the Mississippi State lead to 6-5. Will Furniss would draw a leadoff walk to start the 9th inning for the Rebels. Campbell Smithwick would draw another walk to give the Rebels two base runners with no outs in the ninth. Ole Miss would strand the runners in the 9th, as the Bulldogs escape with a monster 6-5 victory over the Rebels.

Ole Miss will return to action on Tuesday night for the final non-conference game of the year. The UT Martin Skyhawks will travel to Swayze Field to take on the Rebels, and Auburn will welcome them to Oxford for a three-game series starting Thursday night.

Mississippi State will have a final home non-conference game against North Alabama on Tuesday night before hitting the road on Thursday night for a three-game series at Missouri.