Anna Grace Bowling
The No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels (10-2) closed out the series of their first few away games in Minneapolis with a 14-5 win against Nebraska (5-4-1) on Sunday.
Ole Miss exploded with eight runs in the first inning, putting them ahead of Nebraska for an early lead.
“We just continue one through nine to put some really good at-bats together,” head coach Mike Bianco said after the game. “Even if a guy has a tough night, there’s usually someone there to pick him up.”
Senior center fielder Ethan Groff and senior second baseman Peyton Chatagnier were the two offensive leaders for the Rebels against Nebraska.
They both had two base hits, Groff with four RBIs and Chatagnier with one.
Starting on the mound for the Rebels was left-hander Xavier Rivas.
Rivas pitched okay as he went 4.1 innings, gave up three hits, three earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts. He struggled with keeping his pitch count down as he was already at 90 pitches in the fourth inning.
The team’s pitching has definitely improved as the games have gone on, although Bianco acknowledges that there’s going to be some growing pains.
“We just continue to grow,” Bianco said after the game. “Again, it’s not going to happen overnight. If you look over the last three weeks, our walks have decreased and our guys have done better.”
The Rebels went 3-0 at the Cambria College Classic, their match against Minneapolis being their fourth-straight game win. They certainly hope to carry their momentum back to Oxford against Southern Miss at Swayze field on Tuesday, March 7 at 6:30 p.m. CST.
