Ole Miss Baseball: No.18 Rebels Get Series Sweep Over No.16 Gators

Coach Mike Bianco and No.18 Ole Miss baseball were back in action Saturday for a double-header to finish out the series against No.16 Florida.

No.18 Ole Miss baseball (23-10, 8-4) began the series with a 12-4 game-one win Friday night and because of expected inclement weather the Rebels would be forced to play a double-header Saturday. The Rebels would need at least one win in the two games to win the series and of course winning both game would sweep the No.16 Florida Gators (21-13, 4-8).

In the first game of the day the Rebels got on the board first with 2 runs in the bottom of the first inning to take the early 2-0 lead. After a scoreless second frame the Rebels extended the lead to 3-0 with 1 run in the bottom of the third. The Gators got on the board with 1 run in the top of the fourth to cut the Rebels lead to 3-1 but Ole Miss turned up the heat.

The Rebels added 2 runs in the bottom of the frame to extend the lead to 5-1 and then added 6 runs in the bottom of the fifth to push their lead to 11-1. Not done the Rebels added 2 runs in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead to 13-1. Ole Miss then added 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh to make it a 16-1 ballgame. The Gators mustered 3 runs in the top of the eighth to make it 16-4 Rebels but couldn’t produce anything more and the Rebels picked up the 16-4 series win.

Going For The Sweep

In game-three the Rebels started slow and were down 4-0 after the first three frames. The Gators extended their lead to 8-0 after 4 runs in the top of the fourth. The Rebels got on the board with 2 runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Gators lead to 8-2. The Rebels took the 10-8 lead with 8 runs in the bottom of the fifth.

The Gators put 2 runs on the board in the top of the sixth to make it a 10-10 tie game. Ole Miss retook the 11-10 lead with 1 run in the bottom of the frame. The Rebels then added 1 run in the bottom of the seventh to extend the lead to 12-10 which would be the final and give Ole Miss the SEC series sweep. OHT takes a look at both Saturday games by the numbers and has some observations.

By The Numbers

Ole Miss Rebels

In the 16-4 game-two series win there were 9 Rebels who combined for 20 hits with 5 Rebels recording multiple-hit games at the plate. Leading all Rebels was junior Grae Kessinger who went 5 for 5 with 5 RBI. Junior Thomas Dillard went 4 for 5 while sophomore Anthony Servideo went 3 for 3 with 1 RBI.

Senior Ryan Olenek and junior Cole Zabowski each went 2 for 4 with Olenek getting 2 RBI. Freshman Knox Loposer went 1 for 2 with 1 RBI while freshman Kevin Graham went 1 for 5 with 1 RBI. Sophomore Tyler Keenan also went 1 for 5 with 1 RBI at the plate.

On the mound freshman left-hander Doug Nikhazy drew the expected start. Nikhazy went for 6.0 innings allowing 1 earned run on 7 hits with 6 Ks and 1 BB. Junior right-hander Taylor Broadway entered in the seventh and went for 2.0 innings allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits with 3 Ks. Freshman left-hander Kaleb Hill pitched the ninth and allowed 2 hits with 2 Ks.

Game-Three

In the 12-10 game-three series sweeping win there were 7 Rebels who combined for 12 hits with 4 Rebels recording multiple-hit games at the plate. Leading all Rebels was senior Ryan Olenek went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI. Junior Cole Zabowski (1HR) went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. Senior Chase Cockrell went 2 for 4 with 1 RBI in the game.

Sophomore Anthony Servideo went 2 for 4. Junior Grae Kessinger went for 1 for 4 with 1 RBI while freshman Knox Loposer went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI. Freshman Kevin Graham went 1 for 5 with 1 RBI at the plate.

On the mound junior right-hander Houston Roth drew the start. Roth went for 3.0 innings allowing 0 earned runs on 5 hits with 5 Ks and 1 BB. Senior right-hander Conner Green entered in the fourth and lasted 0.2 inning allowing 4 earned runs on 3 hits with 1 K and 2 BB.

Bianco went to the bullpen and junior right-hander Austin Miller entered. Miller went for 1.2 innings allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits with 2 Ks. Bianco went back to the pen in the fifth and closing right-hander Parker Caracci took the hill. Caracci went the rest of the way over 3.2 innings allowing 0 earned runs on just 1 hit with 2 Ks and 1 BB.

Observations

This was a huge series for Mike Bianco and the Rebels and its an attention getter for Rebels fans who saw No.18 Ole Miss baseball put 40 runs on the board thru the three-games. Keep in mind this was against solid Florida Gators pitching and the 40 runs scored by the Rebels came on 49 hits. The Ole Miss lineup was on fire at Swayze Field. The Rebels were able to put the ball in play at the plate and took advantage of their opportunities offensively. There was a huge difference in both attitude and talent from what we saw in the ugly North Alabama midweek loss.

Coach Mike Bianco and No.18 Ole Miss baseball will be back in midweek action Tuesday night as they travel to Pearl to face Southern Miss. First pitch is set for 6pm and there is no television coverage at this time. Good luck to coach Bianco and the Rebels in Pearl. Hotty Toddy!