OXFORD - Ole Miss took care of business quickly on Tuesday night.

The 11th-seeded Rebels scored five runs in the first three innings and three pitchers combined on a five-hitter to seal a 6-1 win against Arkansas-Little Rock.

Ole Miss (29-11) has won seven out-of-conference games in a row and will try to extend that streak tonight at Southern Miss (25-14).

Against UALR (9-26), Zach Miller singled in a pair of runs in the first and Brett Basham bashed a two-run home run in the second. It was his second homer of the season and made the score 4-1.

In the third, Miller doubled, stole second and then scored on a wild pitch after taking third.That was more than enough offense to back Rebels starter Nathan Baker (3-0), who worked 5 2/3 innings and gave up one run on four hits. Aaron Barrett pitched 2 2/3 hitless innings and Matt Tracy closed out the ninth.

Barrett got six of his eight outs on strikeouts; the Rebels finished with nine strikeouts against just two walks.

"It was a pretty clean game for us tonight," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "We started off strong and then settled in. Nathan Baker was tremendous tonight to come out and battle like that after throwing a lot on Saturday afternoon at Florida. Aaron Barrett pitched well tonight and Matt Tracy did a good job at the end."

Trojans starter Jake Sullivan (3-4) worked 5 2/3 innings and allowed six runs on eight hits with five walks and four strikeouts.

Southern Miss tuned up Tuesday night with a 13-5 win at home against Mississippi Valley State.

MSU falls at home

- STARKVILLE - Mississippi State rallied for four runs in the eighth to make it interesting, but dropped a 10-6 decision to Middle Tennessee. The teams play again tonight at 6:30.

The Bulldogs (20-21) have lost four of their last five.

The No. 2-3-4 hitters for the Blue Raiders (28-10) did much of the damage Tuesday night, combining for 10 of their team's 15 hits, six RBIs and five runs. No. 2 hitter Grant Box went 2-for-5 with two RBIs, left fielder Bryce Brentz went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and his team-best 20th home run and third baseman Rawley Bishop went 4-for-5 with an RBI.

The game was tied at 2 after four innings, but Middle Tennessee blew up for five runs including a three-run homer for Brentz.The second MSU pitcher of the night, Lee Swindle (1-3), was on the mound in the fifth and took the loss.

Mississippi State rallied in the eighth as Connor Powers walked and Russ Sneed followed with a homer. Cody Freeman also homered and Ryan Collins scored on a double by Ryan Powers.

The Bulldogs stranded a runner at third base in the eighth and two more in the ninth.

Winning pitcher Chad Edwards (6-1) worked the first five innings, allowing six hits and two runs, both earned. The sixth Blue Raiders pitcher, Coty Wood, worked out of a late jam for his ninth save.