Ole Miss capped off a 4-1 week on the road by taking two of three games from Tennessee including a 10-7 win on Sunday that clenched the series.
After overcoming a 3-2 loss in walk-off fashion on back to back two out hits, the Rebels rebounded on Saturday with a 6-4 in large part due to Michael Fitzsimmons two-run home run in the sixth inning that ended up being the difference in the game. Chad Smith went 4.2 innings, allowing two on six hits, and struck out seven, in the no decision.
Possibly the most telling stat of the weekend, came in Sunday’s series clinching win, as the Rebels went 8-17 with runners in scoring position as it scored 10 runs on 15 hits.
Pitching MVP: Brady Bramlett
Though he did not earn the win on Friday night, Bramlett pitched well, allowing two runs on four hits in 5.2 innings. He kept Ole Miss in the game, holding a 1-0 lead going into the sixth before allowing two runs, ending his day.
Offensive MVP: J.B. Woodman
The junior outfielder had a extremely productive weekend for the Rebels. Woodman hit a homerun on Friday night to tie the game at two. Woodman then would add two hits on Saturday afternoon, before hitting a double and scoring a run in Sunday’s contest. Woodman hit .571 over the weekend.
Ole Miss did not play its best baseball by any means over the last week, but at the end of the day it went 4-1, and was a walk-off hit away from sweeping its SEC opening series on the the road.
The offense, which had been spotty of late, came to life on Sunday scoring 10 runs, and needing all ten of them as Tennessee mounted a late rally. The pitching was not what it has been for the early part of the year, but was good enough when it came down to it. The Rebels host Tennessee-Martin in the midweek before playing host to South Carolina next weekend.
– Brian Scott Rippee
