Oxford: Ole Miss takes the series over arch-rival LSU on Saturday afternoon in a must-win SEC series. With their backs against the wall, the Rebels found a way to win a very crucial series against not only a rival but also a tournament team.
The Rebels found themselves in a very similar spot Saturday as they got down 7-4 in the third inning before rallying in the 5th inning to five-run inning to make it 9-7 Ole Miss. After the monster 5th inning the Rebels shut down the Tigers to win 7-6.
Pitching was a bit of an issue today for Ole Miss as starter James McArthur went two whole innings giving up three hits and three runs and only striking out two batters. McArthur was replaced by Max Cioffi who pitched 0.1 innings giving up three hits, two runs. Cioffi was replaced by Will Ethridge who came in and dominated for the Rebels pitching five and third innings giving up four hits, and one run and earning his second win of the season for Ole Miss. Parker Caracci came in to close the game for Ole Miss going one inning and giving up zero runs in an Ole Miss win.
Thomas Dillard was the hero for Ole Miss today with his first and only hit coming in the bottom half of the 7th inning with a massive three-run home run to take the lead for Ole Miss at 9-7. Ole Miss was also led by Grae Kessinger who went 2-4 today, and Tyler Keenan who went 2-3 for the Rebels.
The crowd was a huge factor in today's game as well. With the Rebels having 12,152 which was the largest crowd in program history breaking the record of 12,117 set last season when the Rebels hosted ECU on opening day. " This is not normal. This is a college football atmosphere in a college baseball game." - Assistant coach Mike Clement
With the win, Ole Miss improves to 34-11 on the season and 12-9 in SEC play.
With the loss, LSU drops to 26-19 on the season and 10-11 in SEC play.
This week for Ole Miss:
5/2 - UAPB ( Swayze)
5/4-5/6 - @ South Carolina ( Founders Park)
This week for LSU:
5/4- 5/6 - Arkansas ( Alex Box Stadium)
Mitch Davis
Twitter- Mitchdavis_8