I made the trip with Ivory Tower all the way down to Pearl, MS to see the Rebels play against the Bulldogs in the Governor's Cup at Trustmark Park. Luckily, we had front row seats behind home plate (no thanks to the Cup) that gave us a great view of the action. Our thoughts are on the other side of the jump.
Mike Bianco's squad won its second in a row with the 8-1 neutral site victory in Pearl. Ole Miss dictated the pace of the entire game and completely dominated the Bulldogs.
Ole Miss proved that it can consistently put at bats together over several innings. In the first, Henry scored on a single from Matt Smith. In the second, Miller scored on a double from Hubbard after being hit by a pitch. Kevin Mort got two of his three RBI in the fourth on a single that scored Miller and Hubbard. Power doubled in the fifth and was brought home by a Matt Snyder single. Miller was hit by a pitch, and a single from Hubbard scored Snyder. Then, Mort got his last RBI with a single to score Miller. The Rebels last run would come in the seventh as David Philips got a pinch hit single with the bases loaded to score Henry.
State's offense was rendered lifeless by the Rebel pitching staff and defense as Buk, Mckean, and Goforth combined to allow only one run. State's lone run came on a single from Jet Butler that scored Scott Deloach. Deloach had hit a lead off triple.
Defensive MVP
Brett Bukvich once again had an oustanding midweek outing as he only allowed one run in six innings of work, and he fanned 11 batters. He is by far the defensive MVP.
Offensive MVP
Kevin Mort proved to be Mr. Clutch as he went 2 for 3 and had 3 RBI on the night.
Random Thoughts
I absolutley despise John Cohen, and I learned to hate him before I knew of his bulldog affiliation and when his Kentucky teams were howling in the dugout during games. Tonight, my hatred grew even deeper. Maybe it's unfair to him that I feel this way, but he argued what he believed to be a foul ball for way too long. One of his players mouthed off to an umpire after getting k'd, and this is a reflection of the coach. I don't like you, John Cohen.
Also, a Rebel fan had brought his young son to the game, and he had forgotten to give him his Ritalin. So, the boy was obviously bouncing off of the walls. However, his dad tried to make him focus, and the most convincing phrase of the night was "Pay attention, boy. Matt Smith is batting." Hmm....
Bianco really likes Goforth but also realizes that he has a live arm. Bianco must have really learned from his Satterwhite experience because he had two pitchers warming in the pen as Goforth took the mound in the ninth. Good call, Mike. Let's stay ready to pull the pitcher in a situation like that.
I am a little pissed at the Trustmark Park concessions people. We had to wait 20 minutes (no exaggeration) for boiled peanuts. That sucks about as badly as Mississippi State's pitching staff.
Overall, we came out and played how we needed to play. Now, we must go on the road and take 2 of 3 from Florida. Go Rebels!