ups and downs

Tuesday was a happening day. In Hattiesburg, Southern Miss enjoyed one of those games you’d like to bottle and store. Ole Miss traveled to Birmingham and rolled to its 11th straight win. At Braddy Field in Jackson, Jackson State overwhelmed LeMoyne-Owen with a 43-run barrage. But there was no joy in Starkville, where Mississippi State blew a six-run lead in the eighth inning and lost 16-12 to Eastern Kentucky in extras. Let’s start at Taylor Park, where the Golden Eagles beat Alabama 9-2. A crowd of 3,577 saw USM (14-4) get 15 hits against a good Bama staff. Sizzling Jake Sandlin went 4-for-4, Hunter Slater got three hits and Dylan Burdeaux clubbed his third homer. Nick Johnson worked a masterful 6 2/3 innings for his first win. Michael Gilbert made a huge play at third base. “You can’t ask for more,” catcher Chuckie Robinson said in a school release. Nationally ranked Ole Miss is now 16-1 after routing UAB 8-1, getting homers from Henri Lartigue and Cameron Dishon. The Rebels scored three in the first inning, the 10th time this year they’ve scored in the opening frame. Jackson State (9-7) used seven homers to crush an overmatched LeMoyne-Owen 23-2 and 20-3. Anthony Stricklin went yard in both games. But at Dudy Noble Field, things went horribly wrong. Nathaniel Lowe, the power-hitting juco transfer, blasted his first homer and drove in seven runs as State built a 12-6 lead through seven. Stunningly, EKU tied it with a six-run eighth, then put up four in the 10th to win it. Four Bulldogs relievers yielded 14 earned runs over the final six innings. State, climbing in the national polls after its sweep of Oregon over the weekend, dips to 12-4-1. While USM, UM and JSU players are walking tall today, it might be the Bulldogs who are most eager to get back on the field. They’ll want to put Tuesday’s clunker behind them, and they get that chance tonight at home against Oral Roberts.