Baseball MEAC Media Relations

Ole Miss Eliminates Bethune-Cookman in NCAA Baseball Regional, 14-1

Michael Guerrero homered twice in one inning as Mississippi eliminated Bethune Cookman 14-1 in the Coral Gables Regional Saturday afternoon.

It was the second time in three years that Ole Miss and B-CU had hooked up in an NCAA Regional. The Rebels defeated the Maroon and Gold, 3-2 in 2006 in the first round of the Oxford (Miss.) Regional of which Mississippi was the host team.

Guerrero's home runs highlighted a 10-run sixth inning. The Rebels sent 14 batters to the plate against Wildcats starter Joseph Gautier and three relievers. Guerrero drove Gautier's 2-2 pitch over the fence in left field for his ninth home run of the year and a 6-1 lead. His second homer of the inning, a two-run shot, put Mississippi ahead 13-1. Gautier (6-3) failed to retire a hitter in the sixth. He allowed six runs and six hits, walked two and struck out one.

Fuller Smith's two-run single off Wildcats' reliever Roman Lancara gave Mississippi an 8-1 lead and Logan Power followed with an RBI double. Smith scored from third on a wild pitch from reliever Phil Enright, Bethune Cookman's third pitcher of the inning.

Cody Overbeck's RBI single scored Power for a 10-1 advantage. Overbeck also hit a solo home run in the eighth, his 16th of the season. Jake Morgan got the victory in relief. Morgan (5-0) inherited two runners and one out from Mississippi starter Drew Pomeranz in the fifth and retired Osvaldo Torres on a line out to third and Emmanuel Castro on a fielder's choice to preserve the Rebels' 3-1 lead.

Phillip Irwin struck out nine in four scoreless innings for his first save of the season. Mississippi (38-25) will play the Miami-Missouri loser in an elimination game Sunday at noon.

The Rebels took the lead for good 2-1 on Fuller Smith's two-out RBI single in the third. After Gautier retired the first two hitters, Jordan Henry kept the inning going for Mississippi with a double.

Matt Smith doubled in a run in the fourth, which increased the Rebels' lead 3-1. Henry's run scoring single in the first put Mississippi ahead 1-0. The Wildcats (36-22) scored their only run in the second on Jose Ortiz's RBI single.

Ortiz finished with three of the Wildcats hits as the junior was certainly back in fashion during the tournament collecting four hits on the weekend. Behind him today was senior Osvaldo Torres--playing in his last game as a Wildcat, with two hits.

B-CU finishes the year with the second-best record in school history as they end the year 36-22.