Doug Nikhazy wanted to get on with it in the ninth inning.

The junior left-hander was moments from a complete game one-hitter, and he was more than capable of finding his own energy to finish it off, muttering into his glove, willing himself to blank the Bulldogs and put a punctuation on one of the best regular season Ole Miss pitching performances in recent memory.

He threw 10 total pitches in the final frame, each time securing the ball from the catcher and quickly getting back to the mound. No time wasted. No quarter given.

After a fly out to start the ninth inning, Nikhazy threw six straight strikes, sitting down the final two swinging of 27 outs on the afternoon. He raised his arms in the air and celebrated the complete shutdown of Mississippi State on the Saturday of Super Bulldog Weekend.

“We needed it in the biggest way,” head coach Mike Bianco said. “A guy in his two-and-a-half years here, has answered the bell a lot of times for us. All the drama that you could have, but he was sensational today.”

The Rebels beat up the Bulldogs, 9-0, to even the series and set up Sunday rubber match at 1 p.m. The Rebels (26-9, 9-5) banged out 17 hits, six of the extra base variety, and scored in the first five innings. But the day was about Nikhazy and his energy and excellence in dominating MSU (26-8, 9-5) in front of more than 13,000.

Nikhazy stared down and strutted at Dude Noble Field, silencing the crowd from the start.

MSU’s lone hit came with one out in the fifth inning, but Nikhazy regrouped quickly, retiring the next two on four total pitches and not allowing a runner to second base the entire game.

The 12 strikeouts tied a career-high, and he walked two batters. He tired 11 in a row prior to the single, and he sat down the final 10 batters of the game.

“It’s an awesome game, man,” Nikhazy said. “This is one of those I’m going to look back and be really proud of. More importantly, this is going to give us a really good shot to win tomorrow and let us have pretty much whatever we need tomorrow.”

Nikhazy’s complete game leaves Taylor Broadway fully rested to come in whenever needed after starter Drew McDaniel. Nikhazy has dominated the middle-game role during SEC play, thoroughly dominating opponents since returning from a chest strained that costed him two weeks early in the season.

The Rebels are 4-0 in his SEC starts this season, and he hasn’t allowed an earned run in three of those. During league play, Nikhazy has given up two earned runs in 25.2 innings with 37 strikeouts and 10 walks.

He’s flourished in key games throughout his career, winning his regional and super regional starts as a freshman. Bianco mentioned Nikhazy’s competitive streak during his pregame interview, and that was on display throughout as he mixed outward emotion with calm dominance.

The Bulldogs had won 15 of the last 17 in the series, but the Rebels fed off Nikhazy and ended any doubt in the outcome by the halfway point.

Nikhazy struck out five in a row early in the game and punched out two or more in an inning five different times.

“Doug’s stuff was so electric today,” Hayden Dunhurst said. “And the biggest thing that people don’t realize is he didn’t miss any of his spots today. He didn’t miss one spot… That’s the biggest thing with him. If he executes, nobody can hit his stuff.”