Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss’ Justin Huisman broke a 4-4 tie with a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning, and reliever Ronnie Goodwin got off a bases loaded jam in the top of the ninth to secure a 6-4 win for Ole Miss in the second game of the weekend’s three-game Southeastern Conference. LSU won Friday night’s game 12-6.
LSU (34-14, 14-8 SEC) was led in hitting by Theriot, who went 3-for-4 on the day. Second baseman Mike Fontenot went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
Tiger starter Brian Tallet (9-3) was charged with the loss, giving up six runs on 11 hits in 7 2/3 innings.
With the win, Ole Miss takes a 1 1/4 games lead over Kentucky in the race for the eighth, and final spot to the SEC Tournament. The series finale will be played Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Oxford-University Stadium/ Swayze Field.
Goodwin entered the game in relief of Joel Lyons with runners on first and second and one out in the ninth. Brad Cresse hit into a fielder’s choice to third with Ryan Theriot advancing to third base on the play. Pinch-runner Billy McBride stole second to put runners on second and third with two outs, and Brad Hawpe drew a walk to loaded the bases. Goodwin, though, escaped the inning when he coaxed Cedrick Harris to ground out to third baseman Lance Jones to end the game.
Lyons (2-0) earned the win, giving up one hit and no runs in 2 1/3 innings of work. Goodwin earned the save which was his third of the year.
Ole Miss out-hit the Tigers 11-9, with four Rebels going 2-for-4 on the day. Huisman picked up three RBI and hit his seventh homer of the year, a two-run shot in the fourth inning that put the Rebels on top 3-1. Kris Cox collected a pair of singles to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games.