Ruby DraayerOle Miss baseball won two midweek games after coming off of a series loss to UCF last week. The Rebels opened up against rival Memphis on Tuesday and hit for a season high of 16 runs, winning the game 16-4. For their second matchup, the Rebels faced the Jackson State Tigers on Wednesday and won 12-1 with seven innings played.
In Tuesday’s game, sophomore pitcher Drew McDaniel had his second start of the season, and in four innings, gave up one earned run. Sophomore pitcher Jackson Kimbrell and senior pitcher Greer Holston came in to finish out the game and neither allowed a single walk or hit in five innings. They combined to strike out eight batters.
Kimbrell has not allowed a run in 8.2 innings in the 2021 season. Holston was also able to strike out three batters, something he hasn’t been able to do since May 27, 2018.
The Memphis Tigers were able to score first, making it 2-0 in the first inning. However, the Rebels were able to quickly handle things after Memphis walked four Rebels to make it a 2-1 game. Shortstop Jacob Gonzalez had a throwing error that allowed for another Memphis run.
Gonzalez came up to bat to hit a two RBI double after senior Ben Van Cleve and freshman TJ McCants walked.
Ole Miss didn’t slow down and claimed victory over Memphis, 16-4. Junior Justin Bench had a career high of five RBIs, while senior Tim Elko hit his first home run of the season. McCants also claimed his first two career runs during the game.
On Wednesday, Ole Miss hosted Jackson State. The last time these two teams met was in 2012, and the Rebels now lead in all-time meetings 8-0. Senior Tyler Myers started at pitcher and didn’t allow for a single run. This was the Texas native’s first start, and he pitched two perfect innings, allowing no runner to reach.
Following Myers, sophomore Wes Burton and junior Braden Forsyth stepped up to the mount to pitch. Ole Miss pitching went for 7.2 innings without allowing a single run. The game ended in the seventh inning on a mercy rule call.
Elko hit another home run, making this his second consecutive game to hit one. In addition, junior Kevin Graham hit a career-high of three RBIs against Jackson State.
Ole Miss seemed to have no problem getting back on track after they were able to score double-digits on both of their opponents. The team’s focus will now be on this weekend’s games against Belmont State on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Swayze Field, where they will attempt to win their first series of the 2021 season.
