Ole Miss Baseball Splits With Wright St. Sunday

OXFORD, Miss. (Ole Miss Athletics) — The No. 18-ranked Ole Miss baseball team claimed the weekend series over Wright State with a split of its doubleheader Sunday, Feb. 22, at Swayze Field. The Rebels (4-2) bounced back with a 3-2 win in game two after suffering a 3-1 loss in game one.

Ole Miss continues its eight-game, season-opening homestand with a pair of midweek contests against Arkansas State on Tuesday, Feb. 24, (3 p.m. CT, SEC Network+) and Central Arkansas on Wednesday, Feb. 25 (4 p.m. CT, SEC Network+), before hitting the road for the first time this season for a three-game weekend series at UCF.

GAME 2 RECAP: Ole Miss 3, Wright State 2

The Rebels claimed the series and earned the split with a 3-2 victory in game two. Unlike game one, the second contest was a shortened game scheduled for seven innings.

Senior right-hander Sam Smith took a no-decision, as he allowed two runs on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work. Sophomore left-hander Wyatt Short (1-0) earned the win in relief, working a career-long 3.1 scoreless innings, scattering three hits with a walk and four strikeouts. In his appearance out of the bullpen, Short was able to get the Rebels out of two bases-loaded jams.

“He was terrific,” said head coach Mike Bianco of Short. “We needed him, coming into a tough situation with the bases loaded, and then he gets the big strikeout. I’m proud of him. It’s tough on this day after sitting for 12-13 innings to get called in and pitch three and a third innings.”

Catcher Austin Knight and left fielder Josh Watkins tallied two hits apiece for the Rebels. Six Rebels in the lineup recorded hits, and three of their nine hits were doubles.

Smith retired each of the first six batters he faced in the contest, before Wright State (4-2) broke through and took a 1-0 lead in the third on a two-out, RBI single through the left side.

In the bottom of the inning, Ole Miss loaded the bases with nobody out and pushed two runs across, highlighted by a double by freshman second baseman Tate Blackman and later a two-out RBI single by sophomore shortstop Errol Robinson to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead.

Wright State loaded the bases in the fourth, but Smith and Short limited the damage to one run, as the sophomore southpaw came on in relief and recorded an inning-ending strikeout to strand the bases loaded and preserve a 2-2 tie in the game.

After threatening in the bottom of the inning, the Rebels scratched a run across in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead. Junior right fielder Cameron Dishon reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on an RBI double to left by sophomore center fielder J.B. Woodman.

The Raiders threatened in the sixth and seventh, getting a runner over to third in the sixth and loading the bases with one out in the seventh, but Short kept them off the board in both frames to preserve the win. Short was helped out by Robinson, who made a diving catch on a line drive and threw it to second for the game-ending double play.

“There was some relief, especially getting the win in the third was really important for us, not for an ego boost or anything like that, but to get another win under our belts,” said sophomore shortstop Errol Robinson, who made a diving stop to help turn a game-ending double play in the second game. “We fought so hard all through the game and even the last game. It feels really good to come out victorious.”

GAME 1 RECAP: Wright State 3, Ole Miss 1

A three-run home run in the seventh by Wright State first baseman Gabe Snyder lifted the Raiders to a 3-1 victory in the first game of the day. The Rebels out-hit WSU, 5-4, but the homer proved to be the difference as Ole Miss left eight runners on base.

Ole Miss starting pitcher Brady Bramlett was fantastic once again, but had to settle for the no decision. The sophomore allowed just one hit and one walk, while striking out a career-high 11 hitters over six innings of work. Bramlett became the first Rebel to record double digits in strikeouts since Bobby Wahl struck out 10 batters, March 9, 2012.

“He had another really good day, 11 strikeouts for him,” noted Bianco. “He gave us everything he could for six innings. We had one bad inning that cost us the ballgame.”

After hitting his first homer of the season Friday night, Sikes Orvis continued to show power at the plate with a pair of doubles, including one that nearly left the yard for an opposite field home run.

The first game started out as a pitcher’s duel behind Bramlett sending three hitters down looking on strikes in the top half of the first. The tall righty followed with two punchouts each in three consecutive innings to tie his career high, before reaching double digits after his 10th strikeout in the top of the fifth.

Ole Miss broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth with a little two-out rally. Orvis nearly went opposite field for a home run, but it hit just below the foul pole, allowing him to cruise in with a standup double. In the upcoming at-bat, a throwing error on a Bortles grounder kept the inning alive and brought Orvis around to score for the first run of the ballgame. After Holt Perdzock was plunked by a pitch, Watson singled to right, but Bortles was gunned down at the plate to end the inning.

Bramlett’s day ended after six innings, and the Raiders took advantage of his exit with three runs in the top of the seventh. A single and a walk put two runners on base, and Snyder changed the game with one swing of the bat. His drive to right center field cleared the fence for a three-run homer, giving Wright State a 3-1 advantage.

The Raiders took a two-run lead into the ninth before the Rebels attempted a comeback. A walk followed by a two-out single by Blackman put the tying run at first base. However, pinch hitter Will Golsan was robbed on a diving catch in right field that secured the first game for the visitors.