Ole Miss Baseball: No.5 Rebels Pick Up Tight SEC Win In College Station

 Thursday night found No.5 Ole Miss baseball travelling to College Station to take on the No.11 Texas A&M Aggies in game-one of a three game SEC series.

No.5 Ole Miss baseball (21-2, 3-1) was coming into College Station off a midweek win over the University of New Orleans in Oxford. The win allowed the Rebels to become the first team in the NCAA to reach the 20 win mark this season. Of course, the Rebels needed the win to enter the A&M series on the momentum of a 3-game win streak. No.11 Texas A&M was coming into Thursday night’s game on a 2-game win streak and needed a win to break .500 for the first time this season.

After a scoreless first inning the Aggies got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the 2nd. The Rebels responded in the top of the 3rd with 2 runs and took the 2-1 lead. Texas A&M answered with 1 run in the bottom of the frame to tie the game at 2-2. The Aggies struck again in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game at 2-2 going into the 5th. The Aggies then struck again for 2 runs in the bottom of the 5th to take a 4-2 lead into the 7th. After scoreless 6th and 7th innings the Rebels rallied with 3 runs in the top of the 8th to take the 5-4 lead. Of course, behind shutdown pitching from red-shirt sophomore Parker Caracci the Rebels hung on and took the 5-4 win in game-one.

We can see how good the Rebels were while watching them play. However, when we look at the statistics it tells the story of the game. The Rebels have their work cut out for them in this series and it won’t be easy. For now we’ll enjoy Thursday’s win by the numbers.

By The Numbers

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For the Rebels regular game-one starter sophomore left-hander Ryan Rolison took the mound. Rolison went 4.0 innings allowing 3 earned runs on 6 hits. Rolison had 3 Ks and 3 BB. Sophomore right-hander Will Ethridge entered in the 5th and went 3.0 innings on the mound allowing 0 runs on just 2 hits. Ethridge had 6 Ks in his appearance. Sophomore Parker Caracci entered in the 7th and went 2.0 innings allowing 0 runs on only 2 hits. Caracci had 5 Ks in the effort.

At The Plate

Although Texas A&M pitching was solid enough to combine for 11 Ks in the game the Rebels still produced. At the plate 5 Rebels combined for 8 hits while 3 of those had multiple hit games. Leading all Rebels was junior Ryan Olenek who went 2 for 3 with a run scored. Junior Nick Fortes and sophomore Grae Kessinger both went 2 for 4 at the plate. Fortes had 3 RBI while each scored 2 runs.

Sophomore Cole Zabowski had a 1 for 3 night at the plate while sophomore Thomas Dillard went 1 for 4. Dillard had 1 RBI. Ole Miss baseball hit really good in the top of the order against a strong A&M pitching staff. Aggies pitchers accounted for 11 combined Ks in the game. The Rebels have shown they can rally big innings to win tight games. Of course, this is the sign of a very strong and competitive team. With strong pitching the Rebels batting order can afford a few bad games but we want to see better hitting. The Rebels have their hands full as they go for the series win tonight.

Next: A Look At Predictions...

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No.5 Ole Miss baseball will be back in action tonight against No.11 Texas A&M in game-2 of the three game series. First pitch from College Station is set for 6pm CT and the game will be televised via the SEC Network. Good luck to coach Mike Bianco and the Rebels as they go for the series against the Aggies. BEAT TAMU! Hotty Toddy!