Coach Mike Bianco and No.21 Ole Miss baseball were back in action Sunday in Fayetteville as they faced No.8 Arkansas in game-three of the weekend series.
No.21 Ole Miss baseball (20-9, 5-4) was back in action Sunday and coach Mike Bianco and the Rebels were hunting a tough SEC road series win in game-three against No.8 Arkansas (22-6, 6-3). After a game-one loss to the Hogs Friday night the Rebels bounced back on Saturday to get the game-two win and even the series. The Rebels needed a huge game Sunday to get their 20th win in 2019 and to win the series.
The Rebels wasted no time getting cranked up and got on the board first with 1 run in the top of the first to take the 1-0 lead after one. Keeping it rolling the Rebels extended the lead to 2-0 with 1 run in the top of the second. After a scoreless third the Hogs scored 2 runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2.
It didn’t last long as the Rebels retook the lead at 4-2 with 2 runs in the top of the fifth. Arkansas responded with 3 runs in the bottom of the frame to take the 5-4 lead. Ole Miss cranked up the bats and in the top of the sixth the Rebels added 3 runs to retake the lead at 7-5. The Rebels didn’t stop there and added 3 more runs in the top of the seventh to push there lead to 10-5 and ultimately pick up the 10-5 win and the SEC road series over a very good Hogs team. Of course, OHT looks at the huge game-three win by the numbers.
By The Numbers
Ole Miss Rebels
Sunday in the game-three win there were 8 Rebels who combined for a massive 15 hits with 4 Rebels registering multiple hit games. Leading all Rebels were juniors Cole Zabowski and Thomas Dillard who both went 3 for 5 at the plate. Zabowski had 4 RBI while Dillard had 2 RBI. Senior Ryan Olenek went 2 for 4 with 1 RBI while junior Grae Kessinger went 2 for 5.
Sophomore Tyler Keenan went 1 for 3 with 1 RBI at the plate in game-three while junior Cooper Johnson went 1 for 4. Sophomore Anthony Servideo went 1 for 5 at the plate while freshman Kevin Graham (1HR) also went 1 for 5 in the game but with 2 RBI.
On The Hill
Freshman right-hander Gunnar Hoglund picked up the game-three start as expected for Mike Bianco and the Rebels. Hoglund went for 3.0 innings allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits. Hoglund had 3 Ks and 1 BB. Senior right-hander Conner Green entered in the fourth and went for 1.1 innings allowing 2 earned runs on 4 hits.
Coach Bianco went to the pen again in the fifth and junior left-hander Zack Phillips entered going for 0.2 inning allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits with 1 K and 1 BB. Junior right-hander Tyler Myers entered in the sixth and went the rest of the way on the hill for the Rebels going 4.0 innings and allowing 0 runs on 2 hits with 4 Ks. Myers picked up his first save in 2019 while Phillips (3-1) got the win.
Observations
While getting the 10-5 game-three win and taking the series against a very good team there is still work for Mike Bianco to do. Over the series there were still inconsistencies on the mound and it happened again Sunday. However, junior Tyler Myers stepped up in the final four innings and shutdown the Hogs lineup.
The No.21 Rebels were able to depend on the plate for the huge 10-5 win for the series but the score should have been much worse. Despite working thru the Arkansas bullpen very hard there were 15 Rebels stranded on base in game-three. There is a lot for Mike Bianco to shore up in a hurry for the Rebels to stay in the win column.
Coach Mike Bianco and No.21 Ole Miss baseball will be back in action Tuesday morning as they host North Alabama at Swayze Field. First pitch is set for 11am CT and the game can be seen via SECN+. Congrats to coach Mike Bianco and the Rebels on the SEC series win and good luck Tuesday against North Alabama. Hotty Toddy!