No. 21 Ole Miss Rebels lost to the Memphis Tigers Monday night at AutoZone Park in Memphis.
MEMPHIS — The Memphis Tigers defeated No. 21 Ole Miss 4-0 last night at AutoZone Park in Memphis behind a fourth-inning offensive explosion.
The Rebels (26-11) had just five hits on the night, while the Tigers (23-14) scored all four of their runs in the fourth inning against Ole Miss starting pitcher Brady Bramlett. The freshman right-hander held the Tigers hitless through the first three innings.
“It’s just very indicative of what college baseball is all about,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said.
“They put the (fourth) inning together. They got three hits, three walks and an error and scored four runs. We only got five hits, so obviously, we were very spread out with our offense.”
Memphis second baseman Zach Willis got the first hit of the game in the fourth, and he scored on an RBI double from Tiger first baseman Carter White.
White advanced to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Tiger fly out, giving the Tigers a 2-0 advantage.
Bramlett then loaded the bases, and Memphis right fielder Bryce Beeler knocked two runs in to give the Tigers their third and fourth runs of the game.
Four of the Rebels’ five hits were from sophomore center fielder Auston Bousfield, who was 4-for-4 on the night.
“I just hit some balls hard that found the holes,” Bousfield said. “We just have to get a few more at-bats together.
Collectively, one through nine, all of us can do a little bit something more to get the offense rolling.”
Ole Miss did have a few chances offensively, but fell short, as they loaded the bases in the eighth inning before junior second baseman Preston Overbey struck out on three pitches to end the threat.
Bianco did get two-plus innings from freshman pitcher Jacob Waguespack, who made just his second appearance on the season since returning from a nagging shoulder injury.
“I’m proud of him,” Bianco said.
“It’s tough to come in against a team that’s playing well like Memphis and play on the road and do what he did. I thought he did great.”
The Rebels will be back in action tonight at Trustmark Park in Pearl against Southern Miss.
Sophomore right-hander Josh Laxer will get the start for Ole Miss. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
