A Look Back at a Wild Game Between Mississippi State and Ole Miss Baseball

Two in-state rivals clash again.

Mississippi State breaks in the new Dudy Noble Field with a three-game series against Youngstown / Keith Warren

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State Bulldogs will head to Oxford this weekend to face their rival. Anytime these two schools meet, whether football, baseball, or disc golf, it is always a big deal.

College baseball in Mississippi is different as the Rebels, Golden Eagles, and Bulldogs routinely pack out their respective ballparks. The top two on-campus attendance records were when the two premier Mississippi universities clashed.

The original record was 15,586, and it came on April 12th, 2014; like many games, it was wild. It was a 2-2 game in the tenth inning when Ole Miss legend Sikes Orvis launched a two-run home run to give the Rebels a 4-2 lead.

The home run silenced the capacity crowd at the old Dudy Noble Field, and many had seen enough and headed for the exits. One brave Rebel fan yelled “Hotty Toddy” at the bottom of the Left Field Lounge and was immediately covered in water as an MSU fan dumped a cooler of water all over him.

While drenched, it did not halt his excitement, and Ole Miss added another run to extend their lead to 5-2. The game seemed over, and the Rebels were about to clinch the series over a ranked opponent.

However, any Ole Miss or MSU fan knows it is not over until the final out is recorded. The bottom of the tenth did not start well for MSU as CT Bradford flew out to right field for the first out.

Cody Brown then drove a double off the center field wall. Seth Heck doubled next to drive home Brown to cut the lead to 5-3.

The crowd was waiting for magic to happen, and it did as Alex Detz reached on a throwing error to bring the go-ahead run to the plate.

Brett Pirtle would hit a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to one with Wes Rea coming to the plate. The big first baseman was in a significant slump as he stepped into the plate with the tying run at first base.

The Gulfport native dropped a double in front of a diving Will Jamison, and the crowd erupted as Detz crossed home plate. The outfield was littered with cups from everyone, who jubilantly threw their cups in the air as the Bulldogs tied the game.

Freshman Gavin Collins would have the chance to send the historic crowd home happy, and he did as he grounded a single into left field. As MSU was chasing down Collins in the outfield, the crowd was bezerk and perhaps shocked by what they had just witnessed.

It is always exciting when these two match up, and this weekend will be no different. Cowbell Corner will be at Swayze Field all weekend, and game one starts at 7 p.m. CT tonight on SEC Network.