Ole Miss baseball HC Mike Bianco now second all-time in wins by an SEC coach
PRESS RELEASE (Ole Miss Athletics)-Head coach Mike Bianco moved into second all-time for wins by a SEC head coach Tuesday night, picking up his 871st win at the helm of the program as the Rebels defeated Memphis 7-2 in Tennessee.
Bianco moved ahead of Skip Bertman who had 870 wins as the head coach of LSU. Bianco played for and coached under Bertman before starting his own career as a head coach. He trails only Ron Polk who amassed 1,218 wins as the head coach of Mississippi State and Georgia.
The runs came early for the Rebels Tuesday night as they scored seven runs on six hits in the first four innings. On the night, Ole Miss hit .444 with runners in scoring position and .400 with two outs in innings. Memphis used nine pitchers and only one of them went more than an inning.
Grayson Saunier got the start for the Rebels on the mound, going five innings and allowing just one run on a solo home run in the third inning. He gave up just three hits on the night while striking out four Tigers, picking up his second win of the season.
Both Calvin Harris and Kemp Alderman had two hits in the win and Alderman drove in three runs, giving him 42 RBI on the season.
Ole Miss scored two runs before the Tigers even came to the plate, as Alderman brought Jacob Gonzalez home on a sacrifice fly to center field. Harris then scored on a throwing error by the Memphis shortstop that kept the inning alive.
In the third inning, Ethan Groff drew a walk with one out in the inning before stealing his 11th base of the year. He came around to score on an Anthony Calarco RBI single to center field, making it 3-0 Rebels.
Memphis scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the third as Anthony Hansen hit a solo home run to right field with one out in the frame.
Ole Miss broke things open in the fourth inning, putting up four runs, all with two outs. Judd Utermark singled to center field before stealing second base and coming home to score on an RBI-double from Gonzalez. Groff drew a walk and Harris singled to load the bases. Alderman brought home two runs with a single to right field that scored Gonzalez and Groff. Calarco and Reagan Burford drew back-to-back walks to score another run and make it 7-1.
Sam Tookoian was the first man out of the bullpen for the Rebels, throwing two innings of scoreless relief and allowing just one hit.
Hansen hit another solo shot for the Tigers in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 7-2.
Cole Ketchum and Brayden Jones combined for the final two innings to close out the game for the Rebels.
Ole Miss will return to Swayze Field this weekend as they host No. 5 Arkansas for a three-game set beginning on Thursday.
