MM#2 Governor's Cup

Alex LoMauro

April 19, 2012

Governor’s Cup Returns to Oxford

The #22 ranked Ole Miss Rebels took the Governor’s Cup home to Oxford after defeating rival Mississippi State 6-3 at a neutral site at Trustmark Park in Pearl, MS. Head coach Mike Blanco was very proud of his team and felt they played really well.

Freshman right-hander Hawtin Buchanan stole the show and came up big for the Rebels in relief as he held the Bulldogs scoreless over the final 5.1 innings of play. This was a huge night for the Rebels, as the production from the bullpen hasn’t been very well lately.

“It’s good for us Rebel fans to see a kid like that step up and play his heart out and help contribute toward a win, it makes us happy and he could eventually be a fan favorite” long time Rebels fan Matt Parker said

Buchanan was also named the Governor’s Cup Most Valuable Player after retiring all eight batters he had faced. Buchanan pitched 2.2 perfect innings with five strikeouts. Buchanan now holds a 0.98 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 9.2 innings for the season being that strong point for the Rebels bullpen.

Matt Snyder finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBI and run scored to spark the Ole Miss offense.

Ole Miss returns to game play this weekend, hosting No. 15 Arkansas in a three-game series at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field as apart of the Grove Bowl Weekend.

For more information on the Rebels series this weekend and the rest of Grove Bowl Weekend check out these links http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-basebl/ole-m-basebl-body.html and http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/022912aac.html