OXFORD — Thomas Dillard scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday to send the No. 12 Ole Miss baseball team to a 7-6 victory against Murray State at Swayze Field.
The win helped Ole Miss improve to 8-0 for the first time since 2008 and completed its season-opening homestand.
Dillard led off the ninth with a single. Cooper Johnson and Tyler Keenan walked to set the stage for Dillard, who scored on a 1-1 pitch.
Murray State (4-4) tied the game with a run in the seventh. The Racers took the lead with another run in the eighth before the Rebels tied it at 6 in the bottom half of the inning on Ryan Olenek’s RBI single.
Murray State took a 4-0 lead in the first on the strength of a three-run home run by Davis Sims.
Houston Roth, who earned his second Tuesday start in as many weeks, regrouped and went five innings. He allowed four runs on five hits and struck out six.
The Rebels answered in the fourth, when a single by Cole Zabowski scored Dillard.
Ole Miss took the lead with a four-run fifth. Dillard’s three-run double was the big blow. With the game tied, Chase Cockrell’s single to right field scored Dillard, who had a team-high three runs scored.
Austin Miller followed Roth and went 1 1/3 innings. He struck out a career-high three and allowed one run.
Will Ethridge, Jordan Fowler, and Parker Caracci combined to strike out six in the final three innings.
Ole Miss will look to extend its winning streak when it takes on Long Beach State, a national seed last season, on Friday in the first game of a three-game series in California.
Former New Hope High School standout Will Golsan was 0-for-5.
n No. 15 Southern Mississippi 9, New Orleans 7: At New Orleans, LeeMarcus Boyd and Luke Reynolds had two hits and two RBIs, while Jarod Wright added four solid shutout innings Tuesday night to lead the No. 15 Golden Eagles (6-2) to a victory against the Privateers (4-5) at First NBC Ballpark.
Southern Miss beat New Orleans for the fifth-straight time and the 17th time in the last 18 meetings.
After taking a 4-0 lead on a run-scoring double by Matt Wallner and a two-run home run by Boyd in the second and a RBI infield single in the third by Reynolds, the Privateers rallied for five runs to take the lead.
Walker Powell, who retired nine of the first 10 Privateers, gave up four runs in the third, including a three-run shot to Cody Ducote. New Orleans took the lead on a Darren Willis RBI single one inning later.
The Golden Eagles regained the lead in the sixth, as Wallner, who reached on a double, scored on single to left field by Bryant Bowen. Hunter Slater later scored on one of three New Orleans errors.
Jarrod Wright relieved Powell and went four innings. He allowed one run on one hit. He walked one and struck out four. Wallner pitched the ninth for his second save.
Southern Miss added to its lead with a run-scoring double by Reynolds, who later stole home before Slater was tagged out on a double steal attempt in the seventh. A pinch-hit single by Matthew Guidry in the eighth tacked on the final run.
The Privateers added solo runs in the seventh and ninth.
Southern Miss will continue a five-game road swing Friday when it takes on Eastern Michigan at 6 p.m. at the Cox Diamond Invitational at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola, Florida. It also will play Ohio State at 3 p.m. Saturday and Nicholls State at 3 p.m. Sunday.
n Alabama 13, Samford 3: At Tuscaloosa, Alabama, A six-run ninth propelled the Crimson Tide (8-0) past the Bulldogs on Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The victory helped Alabama match the 2010 campaign for the best start since 2002, when it began the year 10-0 under coach Jim Wells.
“It’s always great to get a road win, especially against a good Samford team,” Alabama coach Brad Bohannon said. “We didn’t play our best baseball, but I’m glad we did enough to come out on top in this one.”
Alabama had 10 hits for its sixth double-digit hit performance of the season, and its fourth in as many games. Junior Chandler Taylor, senior Chandler Avant, and junior Keith Holcombe had two hits. Taylor hit two home runs and had a team-high four RBIs and three runs scored. Alabama also had seven walks, including three with the bases loaded.
Redshirt freshman Garret Rukes (1-0) went two innings. He allowed one hit and walked one. He struck out four. Redshirt sophomores Brock Love and Connor Stutts, sophomore Deacon Medders, and junior Dylan Duarte followed. They combined for 11 strikeouts to match a season high.
Alabama will play host to Alabama State at 3 p.m. today at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Junior right-hander Mason Duke is scheduled to start for the Crimson Tide.
n Mississippi State will take on McNeese State: At Lake Charles, Louisiana, the Mississippi State baseball team (3-4) will take on McNeese State (1-6) at 6 tonight at Joe Miller Ballpark.
In the midst of a 12-game span to open the season, MSU will look to get back on track after its game Monday at Texas Rio Grande Valley was canceled due to fog.
This will be the first meeting between the teams.
Right-hander Jared Liebelt is scheduled to start for MSU against right-hander Tyler Wesley
n No. 25 Auburn 7, South Alabama 6: At Mobile, Alabama, Luke Jarvis’ three-run home run was part of a four-run eighth inning that helped the No. 25 Tigers (9-0) rally past the No. 21 Jaguars (7-2) on Tuesday night at Eddie Stanky Field.
Former New Hope High School standout Wells Davis was 2-for-4 with an RBI for South Alabama.
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