Ole Miss Baseball Wins Final Two Games At No. 1 Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Ole Miss Athletics) — One night after rallying behind four runs in the ninth and coming back to win a 16-inning thriller, the Ole Miss baseball team maintained the momentum by taking down No. 1 Vanderbilt for the second-straight game, 5-4, to claim a big SEC series on the road. With a victory over the Commodores (28-9, 11-4 SEC), the defending national champions, the Rebels (18-18, 7-8 SEC) improve to an impressive 5-4 against No. 1 teams in 2015.

Sophomore Errol Robinson provided the game-winning hit, a 2-RBI bases-loaded single in the top of the seventh, and the Ole Miss bullpen kept the Commodores off the board for the second-consecutive contest. Senior Sam Smith came out of the bullpen to pitch two scoreless innings of relief, and junior Jacob Waguespack (1) closed out the ninth to earn his first career save. For the entire series, the Rebels’ bullpen did not allow a run to score in 15.2 innings of work.

“Over the years, we have played really well against the No. 1 team, and we have come out on the right side of a lot of those games,” said Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco. “But I don’t know if I have ever been more proud of a team to come on the road against the No. 1 team, after losing a midweek game, and face a team this talented; we just played great all weekend long.”

Nine different Rebels recorded base hits throughout the afternoon as the team tallied 10 of them. Senior Austin Knight went 2-for-3 and added a walk to reach base three times. Holt Perdzock had a RBI double in his only plate appearance, and Cameron Dishon knocked in a run as well.

In his fourth career start, facing a No. 1 team for the second time in his career, freshman Will Stokes (1-3) put together a career outing. The right-hander went a career-long six innings, surrendering four runs on seven hits to earn the first victory of his young Ole Miss career.

“It felt pretty good,” said Stokes on the team victory as well as his individual performance. “I felt pretty good with all of my pitches, and the defense played great behind me.”

Ole Miss was able to force Vanderbilt starting pitcher Jordan Sheffield out of the game early as he lasted only two innings. The Rebels pegged Sheffield for three runs before getting two more off Tyler Ferguson (0-1) in the seventh inning. At the plate, the Commodores finished the game with eight hits.

Vanderbilt got a solo home run from Dansby Swanson to score the first run of the ballgame, but the lead did not last long as the Rebels answered with three runs in the top of the second. After Robinson drew a leadoff walk, Knight executed a hit and run to perfection with a base hit to center field. With runners on the corners, Perdzock doubled down the right field line to tie the contest at one run apiece. Dishon gave Ole Miss the lead by beating out an infield single that scored Knight, and Perzock would later score on a groundball double play to make it a two-run game.

The Commodores cut the Ole Miss lead in half, 3-2, by plating a run in the bottom half of the inning. One inning later, Vandervilt knotted the game at 3-3, and looked to take the lead with two runners in scoring position and only one out. However, Stokes struck out a hitter, and Sikes Orvis made a diving stop at first to prevent the home team from re-gaining the lead. After three innings, each team had three runs up on the board.

Stokes tossed a pair of scoreless innings before Vanderbilt re-claimed the lead on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth. Once again, Ole Miss responded to ensure that the Vandy lead was short-lived. The Rebels’ got the leadoff hitter aboard for the fifth time in seven innings as Will Golsan walked. J.B. Woodman followed with an opposite-field singel, and a base on balls was issued to Orvis to load the bases with one out. The Commodores decided to go to the bullpen, but the move did not affect Robinson as the Ole Miss shortstop hit a chopper over the first baseman’s head, scoring a pair of Rebels and flipping the game to a 5-4 advantage in favor of Ole Miss.

Smith made sure the Rebels maintained the lead into the eighth inning with a pair of strikeouts. After surrendering a one-out walk, the senior got a strikeout while Knight caught a potential base-stealer for a double play to end the inning and keep Ole Miss ahead by one run.

Entering the contest in the ninth, Waguespack retired three of the four batters he faced. The junior recorded a strikeout and forced a pair of groundouts, locking up the game and the series for the Rebels.

“It’s just a good team effort by everybody,” added Stokes. “It’s huge to get the win on the road against one of the best teams in the country.”

To break up a pair of SEC weekend series on the road, the Rebels return home to host Tennessee-Martin for a midweek matchup, April 15. The game will end a stretch of nine games in which eight of them were against a team from the state of Tennessee. First pitch versus the Skyhawks is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT from Swayze Field. The non-conference contest will be broadcast on SEC Network+ as well as the Ole Miss Radio Network.

GAME 2 RECAP (Saturday)

A Colby Bortles grand slam in the ninth forced extra innings, and a Henri Lartigue double scored the game-winning run in the 16th as the Ole Miss baseball team rallied to knock off No. 1 Vanderbilt, 7-6, Saturday night at Hawkins Field. The thrilling victory over the Commodores (28-8, 11-3 SEC) marked the Rebels’ (17-18, 6-8 SEC) fourth win this season against a team ranked No. 1 in the nation.

The 16-inning game was the second extra-inning game of the year for Ole Miss. The Rebels defeated then-No. 1 LSU in 14 innings earlier this season after rallying to tie the game in the ninth inning of that contest as well. The two games mark the first time in Ole Miss history that the Diamond Rebels have played two 14-plus inning games in one season. The 16-inning game also was the third-longest in program history.

Bortles’ ninth-inning heroics kept the Rebels alive as his grand slam, with nobody out, cleared the wall in left field. He homered for the fourth time this season, registering the second grand slam of his Ole Miss career. The third baseman was also the last Rebel to hit a grand slam before tonight, going deep against Arkansas State, May 13, 2014.

“This is definitely a confidence booster,” noted Bortles.

The bullpen trio of Jacob Waguespack, Wyatt Short and Scott Weathersby (1-1) combined to pitch 11 shutout innings. Add in starter Brady Bramlett, and the Ole Miss pitching staff kept the No. 1 team in the country off the scoreboard for 14 of the 16 innings. Waguespack pitched three scoreless innings before Short added a pair of shutdown innings. Weathersby finished the game by lasting a career-long six innings and striking out a career-high 10 hitters.

“I was just trying to keep throwing because we needed this,” commented Weathersby. “This is one that really boosted the team spirit, and hopefully we come out tomorrow ready to go and win a series. We need to keep competing and fighting. Some games haven’t gone our way, but for this team to keep fighting to get a win like this was huge.”

Bramlett kept the Commodores hitless until the fourth inning. The Ole Miss starter ended his night allowing five runs (three earned) on three hits and three walks in the no decision; he also struck out five in his ninth start of the season.

The Rebels struck first with a run in the second inning. Bortles led the inning off with a walk before Sikes Orvis lined a pitch in to right field for a base hit. With Bortles 90 feet away from home, Errol Robinson got the job done with a RBI groundout to second base, plating his teammate and giving Ole Miss the early one-run lead.

Bramlett cruised through the first three innings without allowing a hit, striking out five of the first 10 hitters he faced. However, Vanderbilt was able to get to the Ole Miss starter in the fourth, scoring three runs on two hits and a walk. A two-run homer by Will Toffey put the Commodores ahead, 3-1, after four complete innings.

Vanderbilt added a pair of unearned runs off Bramlett in the fifth, increasing its lead to four. However, Waguespack kept the Rebels within striking distance by keeping the Commodores off the scoreboard for three-consecutive innings.

In the top of the eighth, Robinson and Austin Knight each singled to put something together at the plate. Robinson advanced to third on a long fly to right field by Kyle Watson, but Vanderbilt starter Walker Buehler got out of the inning by leaving the two Rebels on the base path.

Although a run did not cross the plate in the eighth, the two hits may have given the Rebels some momentum heading into the ninth. With Buehler out of the ballgame, a hit by pitch and two walks by Philip Pfeifer loaded the bases for Bortles with nobody out. After the wildness from Pfeifer, Bortles waited for a ball in the zone. The sophomore got what he was looking for on a 1-1 count, belting the third pitch of the at bat over the left field wall to clear the bases and tie the game at five runs apiece.

Short entered the game in the bottom of the ninth and worked a shutdown inning to force extras. After hitting the first two batters in the 11th, Weathersby came on and walked the first hitter he faced to load the bases with nobody out. Nonetheless, the senior captain calmed down and delivered his best, striking out two and forcing a flyout to send the game to the 12th.

“If anyone can do it, he (Weathersby) can,” mentioned head coach Mike Bianco. “He’s got the ability to strike people out, locate pitches in the strike zone and work both sides of the plate. He worked some magic there to get out of it.”

Weathersby cruised on the mound to keep the game going until the Rebels broke through in the top of the 16th. Robinson walked with two outs to represent the go-ahead run on base. Lartigue, stepping to the plate for just the second time on the night, roped a double to the right field corner as Robinson bolted all the way around the bases to score. With a one-run lead, Weathersby shut the door, striking out two Commodores in the final inning to close out the thrilling Ole Miss victory.

“I’m proud of them,” said Coach Bianco. “Proud of the guys; that was basically the message — enjoy this tonight — but don’t be satisfied. We have to come out ready to play tomorrow.”