Preston Overby fields the ball during a game last season. Photo: Thomas Graning, The Daily Mississippian.
FRIDAY: OLE MISS 7, STETSON 0
DELAND, Fla. – The Rebels came out and turned in an all-around solid performance on opening night Friday, combining an opportunistic offense with a lock-down pitching performance as Ole Miss (1-0) shutout Stetson (0-1) by a score of 7-0.
Chris Ellis (1-0) picked up the win in his first Friday night start for the Rebels, working 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Wyatt Short also turned in a solid outing, working 2.0 scoreless innings without allowing a hit and striking out four batters.
Hawtin Buchanan then closed things out, working a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the shutout for the Rebels.
Kurt Schluter (0-1) suffered the loss for the Hatters, allowing six runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts in 2.2 innings of work. Only two of the six runs were earned as the Rebels took advantage of miscues to break the game open early.
Auston Bousfield paced the Rebels offensively, going 3-for-3 with a run scored and a walk as the Rebels tallied nine hits on the night in an opportunistic offensive performance.
“I’m proud of the way we played on opening night on the road,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “We really played well in all three phases of the game. Chris (Ellis) was just dominant tonight, as were all of our pitchers. Wyatt (Short) came in and pitched really well for his first collegiate outing. Auston (Bousfield) really got us going offensively and we got some big two-out RBI hits. That’s what you have to do to win.”
SATURDAY: OLE MISS 11, STETSON 1
DELAND, Fla. – For the second straight day the Rebels’ bats came alive early and the pitching staff turned in another dominant performance as Ole Miss (2-0) defeated Stetson (0-2) by a score of 11-1 to claim the weekend series and set up the chance for a sweep on Sunday.
Christian Trent (1-0) led another solid outing by Rebel pitchers, working 6.0 innings and allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts. Trent did not walk a batter and worked a perfect 3.2 innings before Stetson would get its first base runner of the game with a hit batter.
Austin Perez (0-1) suffered the loss for the Hatters, allowing five runs on nine hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work. Four of the five runs were earned against Perez.
Austin Anderson led the Rebels at the plate, going 4-for-6 with three runs scored on the afternoon as the Ole Miss offense pounded out 11 runs on 18 hits. Fellow senior Will Allen went 2-for-3 with five RBI and a run scored while adding a walk.
“Christian Trent was really good for us today,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “All three of his pitches were working and he was throwing a lot of early strikes. He really kept them off balance. I’m proud of him for his first outing.
“We had a lot of guys on the field today making their first outings and that first time can be difficult whether you’re a junior college transfer or a freshman,” Bianco said. “Instead of playing differently, they just went out and made plays and were terrific. Our depth really showed tonight with so many guys able to come in and make plays and hits and pitches no matter the situation.”
SUNDAY: OLE MISS 8, STETSON 2
DELAND, Fla. – Preston Overbey hit a pair of home runs, while Sam Smith anchored another solid outing from the Rebels pitching staff as Ole Miss (3-0) defeated Stetson (0-3) by a score of 8-2 to pick up a sweep of the weekend series.
Will Allen continued his hot streak at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and four RBI to help pace the Ole Miss offense in the sweep-clinching win.
Smith (1-0) worked 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits with three walks and two strikeouts in the start. Three other pitchers saw action for the Rebels with Matt Denny, Cheyne Bickel and Aaron Greenwood all taking the mound down the stretch to close things out.
Josh Powers (0-1) took the loss for Stetson, giving up three runs on nine hits with three strikeouts. Two of the three runs were earned against Powers in his 5.0 innings of work.
“This was a great weekend for us to start the season,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “We didn’t play as cleanly today, but sometimes you won’t play well and still have to find a way to win. We weren’t as efficiently offensively, but we were aggressive and that happens sometimes.
“We challenged our pitchers today with some errors and more walks than we’re used to, but we made some big pitches to get out of some jams,” Bianco said. “We’ll be glad to get home to Swayze Field and play some home games for a while.”
