OXFORD, MS ? A thirty minute fog delay, right in the middle of an Indiana State rally, may have been the best defense for Ole' Miss as the fourth ranked Mississippi team had their hands full with the determined Sycamores before escaping with a 6-4 victory Friday night.
Chris Schmidt, who finished the night going 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple, double and a single, got the Sycamores off fast with a lead-off double in the first inning. After Brian Ramirez reached on an error, Brady Shoemaker singles up the middle to score Schmidt from third. Two batters later, Brian Jett hit a sacrifice fly to center which scored Ramirez and gave ISU a 2-0 lead.
Mississippi scored twice in the bottom of the third to tie the game at two-all. Ole' Miss was able to take the lead for good in the bottom of fifth on a pair of two-run home runs, the first by Overbeck and the second a pinch-hit two-run home run by Power.
The Sycamores, though, fought back in the seventh. Pascual Del Real led off the inning with a double to right center and advanced to third as Sean Osborne singled. After Ryan Strausborger singled to right center and scored Del Real from third, the fog rolled in.
The game was suspended for 30 minutes before play was resumed. Cole Standridge came on to pinch run for Osborne and with one out, Ramirez reached on an error that allowed Standridge to score. Ole' Miss was able to get out of the inning and held off the Sycamores the rest of the game.
Michael Manus picked up his first loss of the season as he went four innings, giving up five runs on six hits while striking out three and walking four.
Indiana State and Mississippi will play again at 4:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday, concluding their play with a 2:30 p.m. (ET) game on Sunday.
Fans of Indiana State baseball should note that Ole' Miss plans to share their baseball broadcast. Check is at SycamoreVision at
www.gosycamores.com for more information.
Fans may also go to the Mississippi web site at
www.olemisssports.com and follow the links to the broadcast and live stats.
