morning after

Ole Miss 11, Mississippi State 1. The largest margin of victory in the 36-year history of the Mayor’s Trophy/Governor’s Cup series. No one saw that coming Tuesday night at Trustmark Park — but maybe we should have. The Rebels (24-22) certainly have perked up at the plate. They had scored five or more runs in seven of their previous 11 games, including outbursts of 10, 11 and 18. Their team batting average is up to .266 after pounding State pitching for 15 hits. They also drew seven walks. With all due respect to Ole Miss senior pitcher Scott Weathersby, who was great on Tuesday in his first career start, State has fallen and can’t get up. Since that long-forgotten 13-0 start, the Bulldogs (23-22) have scored two runs or fewer 12 times. They’ve also lost eight times when they’ve scored five runs or more. Go figure. State has a .272 team average and five players hitting .295 or better. But clutch hits seem to be evading the Bulldogs much too often. See Wes Rea’s strikeout and John Holland’s bounce out with the bases loaded in the third inning on Tuesday night; UM scored five in the bottom half and took command at 7-0. The Rebels, 10-11 in the SEC with three series remaining, head to Missouri this weekend with some real momentum. The Bulldogs (7-14) get LSU in Starkville. That could get ugly.