Despite weak performances from starters Drew Pomeranz and Aaron Barrett, the Rebels were able to use a strong offense and a steady bullpen to earn a rare sweep of fifth ranked LSU.
Friday’s matchup was moved to Saturday setting up a doubleheader. Strong storms moved through the Oxford area Friday evening through Saturday morning causing tornadoes in South Western Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. One tornado was fatal, leading to an estimated 10 deaths in the Yazoo City area.
Game 1 showcased what fans had hoped to be the premiere pitching matchup of the season,
Ole Miss ace Drew Pomeranz (6-0, 1.90 ERA) against LSU starter Anthony Ranaudo (2-1, 6.35 ERA). Ranuando started the year recovering from a stress fracture in his throwing arm but had been solid in his last 4 starts , perhaps returning to the form that garnered him MVP honors in last year’s NCAA Regionals as LSU marched on their way to the NCAA Title. As for Pomeranz, he is considered a frontrunner in this years Golden Spikes Award as the best player in baseball.
Neither pitcher was able to make it into the 4th inning with Ranaudo giving up 9 runs in only 1.2 innings of work. The story of Game 1 was the Rebels offense, particularly DH Matt. Snyder accounted for 6 RBI’s as the Rebels were able to swing their way out of a poor pitching performance by Pomeranz to beat a Top-5 team 11-9, a luxury Pomeranz had not had in the past weeks.
In Game 2, Aaron Barrett was roughed up in 1st inning, allowing 4 ER runs. Barrett would settle down, not allowing an earned run over the next 5 innings. The game was kept alive and moved into extra innings thanks to a homer-robbing catch by Rebels’s CF Tim Ferguson and strong pitching fro relievers Trent Rothlin and Matt Crouse, who gained the win for the Rebels. In the bottom of the 11th with runners on the corners and two out, freshman Alex Yarbrough came through with game winning single to give the Rebels the series.
