A brisk weekend brought the battle of Mississippi to Swayze Field, as 6th-ranked Mississippi State traveled to face Ole Miss in a massive three-game series for bragging rights in the Magnolia State. One of those weekend rivalry slates where records and talent levels can be thrown out, as the sheer energy of the rivalry itself delivers every single time. 

Friday night was all about the Bulldogs as Mississippi State snatched victory from the Rebels behind a top of the 9th rally that saw Chone James knock in an eventual game-winner with a triple that scored Bryce Chance to give the Bulldogs a 5-4 game one victory. What we saw Friday night was the masterful coaching of Coach O’Connor, playing chess with Ole Miss, making the necessary late-game adjustments that best positioned Mississippi State for victory in game one of the season. 

With the chess match also came Charlie Foster’s next man-up pitching performance on Friday night. Foster delivered a really good night for Mississippi State, going 4.2 innings, allowing three hits, one run, all while striking out three Ole Miss batters. From there, it was the Mississippi State bullpen keeping things manageable for the offense to remain within striking distance of Ole Miss. For Ole Miss, it was Hunter Elliott on the mound on Friday night who delivered a good game for the Rebels, going 5.1 innings, giving up four hits with three runs, and seven strikeouts. 

With the win on Friday, Mississippi State improved to 5-2 in Southeastern Conference play, setting the stage for an insane Saturday in which the Bulldogs would go for the series, while Ole Miss would look to force a series-deciding game three on Sunday. 

Saturday would be one of those days that felt like Mississippi State would be taking advantage of before the game even started, as Ole Miss would roll Hudson Calhoun out as their starter, while Mississippi State went with Tomas Valincius as their starter. Calhoun would be the first to get pulled on Saturday as he finished his day after three innings, giving up three hits, three runs, with four strikeouts. Valincius would be pulled after five complete innings, giving up zero runs, just three hits, while striking out nine Ole Miss batters. 

Kevin Milewski would get things started for Mississippi State in the top half of the third inning with a lead-off solo shot to left field to take an early 1-0 Bulldogs lead. Mississippi State would add two more at the top of the 4th to extend the lead to 3-0 over Ole Miss. Jacob Parker would send a two-run shot to the student section in right field in the top half of the 6th to extend the Mississippi State lead to 5-0. Gehrig Frei would add another run to the lead with a solo shot to extend the lead to 6-0 for the Bulldogs. Ole Miss would add a run in the bottom of the 6th to cut the Mississippi State lead to 6-1. Six runs were enough for Mississippi State as they cruised to a series win over Ole Miss. 

Once again, the baseball rivalry between Mississippi State and Ole Miss belongs to the Bulldogs as Coach O’Connor gets introduced to the rivalry with a series-deciding win on Saturday. Through two games between the two, Mississippi State has looked the part of an elite team that has high hopes of winning a National Championship, while Ole Miss looks more like a fringe top-16 seed with the ceiling of a Super Regional appearance and maybe a trip to Omaha. Mississippi State is just that much better than over 99% of the rest of college baseball. This type of team that Mississippi State has is nearing generational as they improve to 23-4 on the season and 6-2 in conference play. 

Game three between the Bulldogs and Rebels will be on Sunday, with a first pitch slated for 3:00 on the SEC Network. 

Photo Credits- Mississippi State baseball on X