Mississippi’s Sikes Orvis (24) hits the ball during an NCAA college baseball game in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, April 5, 2014. (Photo/Thomas Graning)
The Ole Miss baseball team last night avenged their March 5 loss to Memphis, beating the Tigers 9-1 last night at AutoZone Park in Memphis.
The game was controlled by the Rebels from the beginning, powered by a season-high seven extra base hits and a stellar pitching performance by Ole Miss starter senior Jeremy Massie and the Rebels’ bullpen.
Massie picked up the win after pitching a scoreless five innings. Memphis starter Ryan Garner got the loss.
“It’s not a secret that we haven’t played well against Memphis over the last few years, but we’ve been playing good baseball recently and we played them well tonight,” head coach Mike Bianco said. “Massie was terrific. He did what he had to do.”
The Rebels got things started offensively in the third inning as junior left fielder Braxton Lee drove in junior right fielder Will Jamison on an RBI single after Jamison led the inning off with a triple.
The offense exploded in the fourth inning, capped by a senior Preston Overbey two-RBI double scoring senior catcher Will Allen and freshman designated hitter Brantley Bell, which put Ole Miss up by three runs. Two batters later, Jamison knocked in junior first baseman Sikes Orvis to make it 4-0.
A four-run fifth inning padded the Rebels’ lead. Senior third baseman Austin Anderson drove junior center fielder Auston Bousfield to make it 5-0. Allen, the next batter, crushed a two-run home run over the left field wall, increasing the lead to seven runs. Two batters later, Orvis annihilated the ball into the Tigers’ bullpen over the right-center wall, giving the Rebels an 8-0 lead.
In the top of the sixth inning, Anderson drove in Bousfield on an RBI double, making it 9-0.
Ole Miss sophomore right hander Jacob Waguespack yielded the only run for the Tigers in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Memphis catcher Carter White drove in a run. Bianco brought in junior right hander Scott Weathersby, who finished the sixth without any additional damage.
The late innings were quiet as both teams stayed off the scoreboard after the sixth.
Overbey led the Rebels with three hits in four at-bats, highlighted by the two-RBI double in the fourth. Lee, Bousfield, Anderson and Allen each had multi-hit games as well.
“It was great to get this win,” Overbey said. “(The two-RBI hit) opened things up a little, and gave the team some confidence.”
The Rebels will play again tonight in Oxford against Murray State. Bianco will go with freshman left-hander Evan Anderson. First pitch at Swayze Field will be at 6:30 p.m.
