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Ole Miss Baseball: Rebels Drop Game 1 To No.19 Aggies 12-5

By Daniel Skipper

May 6, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a baseball on the field prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a baseball on the field prior to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ole Miss baseball hosted the No.19 Texas A&M Aggies at Swayze Field in Oxford Friday evening in game 1 of the last home series of the season. The Rebels came into the series after suffering a sweep at the hands of No.5 Florida this past weekend. After a midweek break, the Rebels fell 12-5 to the Aggies for their 4th consecutive loss.

Many Ole Miss baseball fans have been sadly disappointed by the lack of offensive production in the past weeks. However, it wasn’t just lack of offense which derailed the Rebels Friday night. When you give up that many runs, it’s really hard to blame it all on lack of offense. Especially when Rebel hitters produced 5 runs themselves.

Statistically, the Texas A&M Aggies (35-15, 15-10) are a better offensive team, point-blank. However, the No.19 Aggies are also a very young team. They lost 13 players from last season. The difference Friday night was the success of the A&M pitching and the lack thereof from the Ole Miss pitching staff.

It’s particularly hard to imagine they would lose 12-5 with the pitching Ole Miss has, however the Rebel pitching corp is very young. When you consider 15 of 18 pitchers on the Ole Miss roster are freshmen and sophomores then you have to admit is a pretty young staff. Of course, all the starters on the Ole  Miss roster have plenty of experience, but even the most experienced pitchers can have a bad night. Can they bounce back and even the series tomorrow? Sure they can, but for now let’s break down the numbers.

On The Hill

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Sophomore James McArthur drew the start for the Rebels Friday night. McArthur (3-5, 4.70) went 5.0 innings and allowed 7 earned runs on 7 hits. McArthur chalked up 3 K’s while allowing 1 walk.

Freshman right-hander and Oxford native Houston Roth entered in the 6th and pitched 2.0 innings of work. Roth (3-0, 1.52) allowed 2 earned runs on 5 hits while also issuing 3 Ks.

Sophomore Andy Pagnozzi finished out the game for the Rebels. Pagnozzi (2-1, 3.31) put in 2.0 innings on the mound and allowed only 1 earned run on 2 hits. Pagnozzi had 1 strikeout and 1 walk.

No matter how you slice it, giving up 12 runs on 14 hits is a rough night on the rubber. Thankfully we don’t have to worry about seeing it happen very often from this Rebel pitching staff. Ole Miss baseball fans can rest assured skipper Mike Bianco will rattle the staff and we will see the effects on Saturday.

Related Story: The Future Of Ole Miss Baseball

Of course, it’s not all on the pitchers in this game as there were also 2 errors committed by their support. Errors seldom show up in the winners side of the box score.

At The Plate

In total, 7 Rebel batters produced 5 runs on 11 hits in the contest. Leading all Rebel hitters in the box was junior Will Golsan. Golsan (.311) went 3 for 4 on the night and knocked in 2 RBI. Nick Fortes continued to produce at the plate. Fortes (.321) went 2 for 4 and had a RBI.

Team captain and senior Colby Bortles (.286) went 1 for 2 and scored a run. Oxford native and freshman Grae Kessinger (.180) went 1 for 3 on the night and knocked in a RBI. Another freshman, catcher Cooper Johnson (.200) also went 1 for 3 and scored a run.

Coach Mike Bianco went to his bench Friday night and they did rather well. Freshman and another Oxford native, Thomas Dillard (.215) was 1 for 2. Kyle Watson (.182) pinch-hit in the game and was 1 for 1. Also pinch-hitting, DJ Miller reached base on a walk and later scored on sac fly by Will Golsan.

All in all Rebel hitters did well at the plate, however there were also 11 Ks committed to go with the 11 hits. Rebel batters also hit into 3 double plays and stranded runners continue to plague offensive production.

Game 2 Next

Saturday’s projected starting pitcher for the Ole Miss Rebels will of course be normal game 2 starter, freshman lefty Ryan Rolison. Rolison comes into the contest with a 2.19 ERA and a 6-2 record. He has recorded 56 Ks in 53.1 innings of work. According to OleMissSports.com, Rolison leads the SEC in fewest runs (15) allowed and is 5th in the conference in ERA.

Corbin Martin (5-3, 3.13) is slated as the starter on the mound for A&M. First pitch from Swayze Field is set for 6pm CT and of course will be televised on the SEC Network.

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