it’s a start

Some of the numbers weren’t very pretty. Twenty-two strikeouts over 14 innings. Just seven hits and two walks. Two errors. But all that really matters to Ole Miss is the final score: 5-3. The win over LSU, ranked No. 1 in some polls, on Saturday night in Baton Rouge might be a springboard for the Rebels, who were just 9-8 overall and 0-1 in the SEC entering that game. Sikes Orvis, the burly first baseman with the signature moustache, had three of UM’s hits and drove in a game-tying run in the ninth and the go-ahead run in the 14th. The rubber game is today at 3 p.m., scheduled for broadcast on the SEC Network. … Mississippi State opened SEC play with a split against Alabama in Starkville. Game 3 is today. The nationally ranked Bulldogs (16-5) still haven’t played a game outside the friendly confines of Dudy Noble Field. … Southern Miss (10-7-1) will play the rubber game of its C-USA opening series today against Florida International at Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. … Jackson State (11-6, 1-3 SWAC) saw its seven-game win streak ended by Alabama A&M. They’ll play a doubleheader today in Huntsville, Ala. P.S. Former State star Adam Frazier was summoned to big league camp by Pittsburgh on Saturday and got a two-run knock in his only at-bat as the Pirates beat Boston 5-2. Frazier, a lefty-hitting shortstop, batted .252 with 42 RBIs, 62 runs and 14 steals at high Class A Bradenton in 2014, his second pro season. He hit .321 in short-season A-ball in 2013.