OXFORD | Ole Miss held off Missouri 7-5 on Friday, improving to 6-2 in the opening game of SEC series this season. The Rebels are 0-7 in the middle games of SEC series.
Game two is at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Ole Miss (25-19, 8-14) inches ahead of the Tigers (25-18, 7-15) in the SEC standings, as the two teams entered the weekend tied with Kentucky for last in the SEC. Two league teams don’t advance to the SEC Tournament in Hoover. Kentucky is 8-14 in the SEC and leading Tennessee, 4-2, in the eighth inning.
Dylan DeLucia had been excellent in his previous SEC starts, averaging more than seven innings of work, but he labored throughout four innings on Friday, throwing 52 pitches in the first inning. He got a strikeout looking to strand the bases loaded in the opening inning to hold the Tigers to two runs in the frame.
The junior college transfer settled down afterward but left at 111 pitches after getting just 12 outs. DeLucia, who usually uses three pitches all for consistent strikes, struggled with command and didn’t have a lot of swing-and-miss to his stuff. He struck out four, walked two, gave up eight hits and hit a batter. The right-hander has been quite the workhorse, throwing 118, 117, 105 and 111 pitches in his last four appearances.
“He struggled to be in good counts,” Mike Bianco said. “He really struggled with the slider and threw a couple changeups. Fastball command was iffy. He barely threw 50 percent strikes and that’s usually around 70 percent for him. That’s a key to why he’s good, and he didn’t do that tonight.”
Kemp Alderman had a career night, going 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and finishing a triple shy of the cycle. He had three RBIs. His double in the first scored a run, as did the RBI single in the third. Alderman is the Rebels' most improved hitter and has done an excellent job with his approach and offensive plan.
Peyton Chatagnier hit a solo home run to give Ole Miss the lead for good in the sixth inning.
Missouri played really bad baseball. The Tigers looked just like a team that’s 7-14 in the SEC. Mizzou committed three errors, leading to three unearned runs and was 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The Tigers out-hit the Rebels 12-7, but blunders made that irrelevant.
Through five innings, seven different Ole Miss batters had reached base, but Alderman was the only one with a hit. He had three hits at the time.
Ole Miss played really good defense late to preserve the lead. In the seventh with a runner on second and one out, Chatagnier dove up the middle and threw out the runner at first. After a walk, TJ McCants made a leaping catch at the wall to end the inning.
“We sound like a broken record, but it’s the truth, you have to play better and how to do that is to make some plays,” Bianco said. “We played better. The McCants play, the Chatagnier play, maybe the biggest pitch of the night was in the first inning when DeLucia strikes him out… “All of those things matter, that’s how you win games in our league.”
Jack Dougherty was a steadying force for the Rebels in relief. He gave up a hit and no runs in 1.2 innings after Mason Nichols allowed a two-run home run to tie the game in the sixth. In his last eight appearances, Dougherty has given up six runs, no runs, three runs, no runs, four runs, no runs, three runs and no runs. He inherited a runner from Nichols and then threw a scoreless seventh inning.
Brandon Johnson picked up his sixth save of the season, getting the final six outs. He struck out four of the eight batters faced. That’s four straight scoreless outings for the closer.
Jack Washburn is available this weekend. He hasn’t pitched since injuring his hamstring against South Carolina. He threw a bullpen on Thursday and was sore but healthy.
Game two is at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Ole Miss (25-19, 8-14) inches ahead of the Tigers (25-18, 7-15) in the SEC standings, as the two teams entered the weekend tied with Kentucky for last in the SEC. Two league teams don’t advance to the SEC Tournament in Hoover. Kentucky is 8-14 in the SEC and leading Tennessee, 4-2, in the eighth inning.
Dylan DeLucia had been excellent in his previous SEC starts, averaging more than seven innings of work, but he labored throughout four innings on Friday, throwing 52 pitches in the first inning. He got a strikeout looking to strand the bases loaded in the opening inning to hold the Tigers to two runs in the frame.
The junior college transfer settled down afterward but left at 111 pitches after getting just 12 outs. DeLucia, who usually uses three pitches all for consistent strikes, struggled with command and didn’t have a lot of swing-and-miss to his stuff. He struck out four, walked two, gave up eight hits and hit a batter. The right-hander has been quite the workhorse, throwing 118, 117, 105 and 111 pitches in his last four appearances.
“He struggled to be in good counts,” Mike Bianco said. “He really struggled with the slider and threw a couple changeups. Fastball command was iffy. He barely threw 50 percent strikes and that’s usually around 70 percent for him. That’s a key to why he’s good, and he didn’t do that tonight.”
Kemp Alderman had a career night, going 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and finishing a triple shy of the cycle. He had three RBIs. His double in the first scored a run, as did the RBI single in the third. Alderman is the Rebels' most improved hitter and has done an excellent job with his approach and offensive plan.
Peyton Chatagnier hit a solo home run to give Ole Miss the lead for good in the sixth inning.
Missouri played really bad baseball. The Tigers looked just like a team that’s 7-14 in the SEC. Mizzou committed three errors, leading to three unearned runs and was 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The Tigers out-hit the Rebels 12-7, but blunders made that irrelevant.
Through five innings, seven different Ole Miss batters had reached base, but Alderman was the only one with a hit. He had three hits at the time.
Ole Miss played really good defense late to preserve the lead. In the seventh with a runner on second and one out, Chatagnier dove up the middle and threw out the runner at first. After a walk, TJ McCants made a leaping catch at the wall to end the inning.
“We sound like a broken record, but it’s the truth, you have to play better and how to do that is to make some plays,” Bianco said. “We played better. The McCants play, the Chatagnier play, maybe the biggest pitch of the night was in the first inning when DeLucia strikes him out… “All of those things matter, that’s how you win games in our league.”
Jack Dougherty was a steadying force for the Rebels in relief. He gave up a hit and no runs in 1.2 innings after Mason Nichols allowed a two-run home run to tie the game in the sixth. In his last eight appearances, Dougherty has given up six runs, no runs, three runs, no runs, four runs, no runs, three runs and no runs. He inherited a runner from Nichols and then threw a scoreless seventh inning.
Brandon Johnson picked up his sixth save of the season, getting the final six outs. He struck out four of the eight batters faced. That’s four straight scoreless outings for the closer.
Jack Washburn is available this weekend. He hasn’t pitched since injuring his hamstring against South Carolina. He threw a bullpen on Thursday and was sore but healthy.
