OXFORD — The past seven Ole Miss baseball teams combined to win three NCAA regionals, an SEC tournament title and a national championship. None of them won their SEC series against Mississippi State.

Finally, the Rebels tasted victory over their in-state rivals Sunday, securing a series win by run-ruling the Bulldogs 14-2 in the decisive third game at Swayze Field.

In a rivalry that glorifies the nonsensical and rejects logic, the Ole Miss team to finally stop the skid is one that is fighting for its season with five SEC weekends remaining. The Rebels (20-16, 5-10) carried a seven-game losing streak into this clash with the Bulldogs (22-14, 7-8) and nabbed the series win they were desperate for.

Mason Nichols drives Ole Miss baseball forward

Injuries and underperformance forced Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco to bring reliable reliever Mason Nichols into the starting rotation last week, with strong results.

So Bianco stuck with it this week. And Nichols rewarded him with one of the best outings by an Ole Miss pitcher this season. He needed only 83 pitches to breeze through 6.1 innings, collecting four strikeouts without walking a batter. The only blemishes on his record came by way of an unearned run in the third inning, and when Gunnar Dennis walked in a runner he inherited from Nichols in the seventh.

The effort gave the Ole Miss bullpen, taxed by a 12-inning effort on Saturday, a fantastic platform — especially when the Rebels knocked Mississippi State starter Evan Siary out after two innings.

Ethan Lege stays hot for Ole Miss baseball

The big blow against Siary came courtesy of Ole Miss left fielder Ethan Lege, who smacked a line drive over the left field wall to put the Rebels up 2-0 in the first inning.

Lege went deep again in the fifth inning for his 11th homer of the season and his third of the weekend.

After struggling through his first season with the Rebels last year, Lege has emerged as the centerpiece of the Ole Miss lineup. With four extra-base hits against Mississippi State, he's up to 21 this season.

Reversing one of their season-long trends, the Rebels displayed strong situational hitting Sunday to pad their lead. Brayden Randle drove in a run with one out in the second. Jackson Ross did the same in the third, then again in a three-run sixth that put Ole Miss up 8-1. Ethan Groff added three runs with a bases-clearing double in the seventh, and Will Furniss hit a walk-off, three-run homer to end the game via run rule.

BIANCO EJECTION: Why Mike Bianco got ejected against Mississippi State, and how it sparked an Ole Miss rally

Mississippi State catcher Johnny Long leaves game early

Bulldogs catcher Johnny Long, the subject of some extra-inning controversy after a bat flip on Saturday, left Sunday's game in the middle of the sixth inning with an apparent injury.

He was replaced by backup Joe Powell, who walked in his only plate appearance.

Up next

Mississippi State is scheduled to return to Starkville for a nonconference game against Alcorn State on Tuesday (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+). Ole Miss has a midweek trip to Arkansas State coming up on Tuesday (6 p.m., ESPN+).

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss baseball tops Mississippi State with Mason Nichols' dominance