Mississippi 14-4, Florida 1-2

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Posted 10:54PM on Saturday, May 28, 2005

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) Tommy Baumgardner pitched six strong innings, Stephen Head homered and Mississippi set up a showdown of arch rivals for the Southeastern Conference tournament title with a 4-2 victory over Florida Saturday. The Rebels, who forced the second game with a 14-1 victory over the top-seeded Gators, will meet Mississippi State Sunday in the first all-Mississippi finals. ``It's a special day and a neat day for baseball in Mississippi,'' Rebels coach Mike Bianco said. ``To have two programs play for the championship in the toughest conference in the nation says a lot.'' Unlike Mississippi State, which has five tournament titles, Ole Miss (44-17) has only one and that came in the first SEC tournament, in 1977. The Rebels haven't played for the title since, but emerged from the loser's bracket this time with terrific pitching. They swept the regular-season series with their in-state rivals, who are unbeaten in the tournament. ``It's going to be a hard-fought game, but in the end it's all fun,'' Head said. Head homered over the right-field fence in the third inning off starter Tommy Boss and had an RBI single in the first, all the offense Baumgardner and reliever Stoney Stone needed. Even Boss was impressed by Head's homer. ``That kid's so strong, it looked like he hit it one-handed to me,'' Boss said. ``I threw a changeup up in the zone and he tattooed it.'' The Gators (40-19) loaded the bases with one out against Baumgardner (2-1) in the sixth. Bianco left Boss in and he got Jared Kubin to ground to third, where Chris Coghlan stepped on the bag then threw to first for the double play. ``He said, 'I know I can get this guy,''' Bianco said. ``There's not a lot you can say when a kid says something like that.'' Florida left men on base in each of the first six innings against Baumgardner, making only his second start of the season. He allowed just one run on 10 hits with five strikeouts and no walks. ``We played ourselves into position to be successful,'' said Gators coach Pat McMahon, whose team is expected to host an NCAA regional. ``Unfortunately, we didn't take advantage and grab that moment.'' Stoney Stone pitched the final three innings, allowing a solo homer by Florida leadoff man Jeff Corsaletti one out into the ninth. He rebounded by striking out Adam Davis and Matt LaPorta to end the game. The Rebels' pitching was even better in the first game. Anthony Cupps tossed a two-hitter and Mississippi had a seven-run third inning in a game called after seven due to the 10-run mercy rule. It was the Gators' worst loss of the season and ended a six-game winning streak. Cupps (8-3) didn't allow a hit until Matt LaPorta's leadoff single in the fifth, when the Gators managed their lone run. He struck out four, walked one and needed only 69 pitches. The first eight Florida hitters reached in the third. ``The first game, we were really just locked in offensively,'' Bianco said. ``The story of the day is just the pitching. Anthony was about as dominant as you can be in the first game.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)