The No. 11 Ole Miss baseball team defeated No. 2 LSU, 7-4, on Friday night at Alex Box Stadium in large part because of two home runs and four RBI by Ole Miss designated hitter Matt Snyder.
Snyder has now homered in three straight games for the Rebels. He had a solo shot in the second and a three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning.
LSU sophomore center fielder Leon Landry hit a two-run double in the seventh to cut the lead to 6-3, but the Rebels never looked back after taking the lead in the fifth inning.
The dreaded rain never reached the field until the ninth inning, but that only served as a symbol that it was over for the Tigers.
In the first inning, sophomore shortstop DJ LeMahieu was tagged out in a pickle between home plate and third base because of a base-running error by junior outfielder Jared Mitchell, who, after lining one off the outfield wall, ran into LeMahieu at third.
“For the life of me, I can’t understand how we can make mistakes like that,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “It’s a very simple rule. If the base is occupied in front of you, you can’t run to that base. I understand if you hit one off the top of the wall you’re excited, you’re running like crazy. But you have to have some control.”
The Tigers’ four-game win streak came to an end, while the Rebels snapped a two-game losing skid.
Sophomore pitcher Anthony Ranaudo (2-2) suffered the loss for for the Tigers, while sophomore Drew Pomeranz (2-0) took the win for the Rebels after pitching seven innings and surrending three earned runs.
LSU managed seven hits, but no Tiger had more than one hit in the loss. Ole Miss also hit four home runs on the night, while the Tigers didn’t hit any.
 
—-Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]