Ole Miss Baseball: No.2 Rebels Season Ends In Oxford-Regional

No.2 Ole Miss baseball watched their season coming to and end Monday as they were eliminated from the Oxford-Regional by Tennessee Tech.

Monday was a rough day for Ole Miss baseball (48-17) as they had to face Tennessee Tech (52-10) in two games. After beating the Golden Eagles on Sunday it would force at least one game Monday with Tech. The Rebels would have to lose to Tennessee Tech twice on Monday to be eliminated from the Oxford-Regional.

In the first game the Golden Eagles got on the board first with 4 runs in the 3rd inning to take a 4-0 lead. Tech then added 3 runs in the top of the 5th and 3 more runs in the top of the 6th to take the 10-0 lead. The Rebels battled back with 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th to cut the lead to 10-5. However, the Golden Eagles added 5 runs in the top of the 9th to push the lead to 15-5 and get the win.

The second game Monday night was a much closer game than earlier in the day. Scoreless thru 5 innings the Rebels got on the board first with 2 runs in the top of the 6th. However, Tennessee Tech added 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th to tie the game at 2-2. With the game still tied in the bottom of the 7th the Golden Eagles added 1 run to take the 3-2 lead. The Rebels were unable to respond and Tech picked up the win and the Oxford-Regional championship.

Of course, the two losses were enough to end the Rebels postseason and push Tennessee Tech forward to face Texas in the supers. Like all games we look at these two heart-breaking losses by the numbers.

Game-One By The Numbers

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Junior right-hander James McArthur (6-1, 4.48) took the start on the hill for the Rebels. McArthur went for 2.2 innings and allowed 4 earned runs on 4 hits. McArthur had 2 Ks and 3 BB. Coach Mike Bianco went to the pen in the 3rd and senior right-hander Will Stokes (1-1, 8.39, 1) took the hill. Stokes pitched for 2.1 innings and allowed 6 earned runs on 8 hits. Stokes had 1 K and 1 BB.

Junior right-hander Connor Green (3.75) entered in the 5th and went 3.0 innings allowing 3 earned runs on 3 hits. Green had 2 Ks and 3 BB. Junior right-hander Colin Coates (13.50) entered in the 9th and went for 0.1 innings allowing 2 earned runs on just 1 hit. Coates had 3 BB. Junior right-fielder Ryan Olenek also made an appearance on the mound for the Rebels. Olenek went for 0.2 innings and allowed 0 hits. Olenek had 1 BB.

At The Plate

In the first game there were 6 Rebels who combined for 8 hits. Two Rebels had multiple hit games against Tech pitching. Leading all Rebels was junior Jacob Adams (.257, 3 HR) who went 2 for 3 while sophomore Thomas Dillard (.310, 13 HR) went 2 for 4 with 1 RBI. Sophomore Cooper Johnson (.235, 2 HR) went 1 for 1 at the plate with 2 RBI. Freshman Anthony Servideo (.226, 1 HR) went 1 for 2 at the plate. Sophomore Grae Kessinger (.300, 8 HR) went 1 for 3 while sophomore Cole Zabowski (.300, 10 HR) went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI.

Game-Two By The Numbers

Freshman left-hander Jordan Fowler (7-0, 3.20) drew the start for the second game against Tech. Fowler went for 5.1 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 4 hits. Fowler had 2 Ks and 2 BB. Coach Mike Bianco made the call to the pen and sophomore right-hander Houston Roth (5-1, 4.44, 1) entered in the 6th. Roth went for 0.2 innings and allowed 2 hits. Roth had 2 Ks and 1 BB. Sophomore closer Parker Caracci (5-2, 2.25, 10) entered in the 7th and went for 2.0 innings. Caracci allowed 0 hits and had 2 Ks and 1 BB.

At The Plate

In the second game there were 6 Rebels who combined for 8 hits while 2 Rebels had multiple hit games at the plate. Leading all Rebels was sophomore Thomas Dillard (.310, 13 HR) who went 2 for 3 at the plate. Junior Chase Cockrell (.317, 9 HR) went 2 for 4 at the plate while junior Nick Fortes (.319, 11 HR) went 1 for 3. Junior Jacob Adams (.257, 3 HR) went 1 for 4 as did sophomore Cole Zabowski (.300, 10 HR). Zabowski had 1 RBI. Sophomore Grae Kessinger (.300, 8 HR) went 1 for 5 with 1 RBI.

Next: Better Than Expected...

In Closing

This is certainly not the outcome any of us wanted or expected but the Rebels have had an outstanding season nonetheless. Ole Miss baseball has tied the school record for most wins at 48 and won a SEC Tourney Championship. It was a very good season for coach Mike Bianco and the Rebels. Congrats to these young men. Hotty Toddy!