April 2, 2011

Box Score

BATON ROUGE, La. – It was a reversal of fortunes for the Rebels on Saturday night as David Goforth handcuffed the Tigers all night and Ole Miss (19-9, 4-4 SEC) exploded for nine runs in the seventh inning to down No. 17 LSU (19-8, 2-6 SEC) by a score of 16-3 at Alex Box Stadium.

The win evened the weekend series at a game each heading into Sunday’s rubber match. The final game of the series is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

David Goforth (1-4) picked up the win as he worked 6.0 innings and allowed two runs on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Kevin Gausman (2-3) suffered the loss for LSU as he allowed six runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 2.1 innings of work. The Tigers used seven pitchers on the night.

Tanner Mathis led a torrid Ole Miss offense that pounded out a season-high 18 hits and scored a season-high in runs with a 4-for-6 performance that notched three RBI. Alex Yarbrough went 3-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored, while Miles Hamblin also notched three hits in the outing.

“I’m very proud of David Goforth, what an outstanding night from him,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “It was a great offensive day for us. We were locked in from the beginning and had a lot of great at bats today.”

Ole Miss got on the board first when Miles Hamblin delivered a single up the middle with the bases loaded that scored Matt Smith and Matt Tracy. The Rebels continued to push runs home, using a single up the middle from Tanner Mathis to score a third run and put men at second and third as Mathis moved to second on the throw from center to third in an attempt to get the lead runner out. A wild pitch allowed Hamblin to score from third and Ole Miss led 4-0.

The Rebels continued to add to the lead in the third. Back-to-back doubles from Yarbrough and Smith got the first run home before Smith scored with a one out single to right from Matt Snyder. The 6-0 lead sent LSU to the bullpen as the Tigers called on Joe Broussard to take the mound.

LSU got on the board in the bottom of the third when Grant Dozar hit a home run to right field to cut the lead to 6-1 in favor of the Rebels. Goforth got the next three batters to ground out, ending the inning with the Rebels holding to the five run lead.

Ole Miss got the run back in the fourth when Mathis scored on a groundout from Alex Yarbrough. Mathis singled to open the inning and moved to third on a single from Newalu.

LSU scored its second run in the sixth inning. Austin Nola got a two out single to reach before moving to second on a walk of Mason Katz. Nola then scored on a single from Alex Edward to cut the lead to 7-2.

The Rebels continued to add to the lead in the seventh inning, pushing nine runs across the plate as Ole Miss used eight hits – including the three-run home run from Yarbrough – to push out to a 16-2 lead on the Tigers.

LSU got a run back in the bottom of the seventh in a rare four strikeout inning for reliever Bobby Wahl. Raph Rymes struck out, but reached on a wild pitch before moving to third on a double from Jacoby Jones. Another wild pitch allowed Rymes to score before Wahl recorded his fourth strikeout in the inning to end the rally with Ole Miss up 16-3.

Ole Miss held the Tigers off the board the rest of the way, claiming the win to even the weekend series heading into the series finale on Sunday.