Ole Miss Walks Off To Beat Georgia

OXFORD, Miss. (Ole Miss Athletics) – Auston Bousfield continued his stellar junior campaign, delivering a bases-loaded, walk-off single in the 10th inning as No. 11 Ole Miss (37-15, 17-10 SEC) defeated Georgia (25-25-1, 10-16-1 SEC) by a score of 2-1 to clinch the weekend series.

Bousfield drove in both runs for the Rebels on the afternoon to deliver the game and the series.

Jeremy Massie (4-2) retired the Georgia side in order in the 10th before the Rebels delivered in the home half of the inning for the win. Massie worked the final 3.0 innings, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts as he kept the Bulldogs in check to allow his team the chance for the final rally.

Starter Sam Smith worked 7.0 innings in the start, allowing the one run in the first inning with seven hits and three strikeouts.

Jared Cheek (5-5) took the loss in relief for the Bulldogs, allowing the one run on two hits with three walks in 2.0 innings of work.

“They robbed (Auston) Bousfield earlier with runners on first and second when we let him swing,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “Georgia was terrific defensively all weekend, especially today. I thought we had a good offensive today, even though we only scored a couple runs. I don’t know if there’s a better guy in the country than Auston to come up (in the 10th). He’s not going to strikeout; he can catch up to the fastball and handle the breaking ball.”

With one out on the board in the 10th, pinch hitter Holt Perdzock drew a walk to start the final rally for the Rebels. Errol Robinson delivered his third hit of the afternoon with a single to right, sending Perdzock to third as Robinson advanced to second on the throw to put two men in scoring position with the top of the Ole Miss lineup coming to the plate.

Georgia elected to walk leadoff hitter Braxton Lee to load the bases and bring Bousfield to the plate.

The Bulldogs pulled in the outfield and played with five infielders in an effort to turn the double play, but Bousfield drove the second pitch over the middle of the infield and into center to bring Perdzock home and deliver the win for the Rebels.

Georgia scored in the first inning, plating a run on a sac fly from Daniel Nichols, but would score no more as the Rebels put zeroes on the board the rest of the way.

Ole Miss tied the game in the fifth on an RBI single from Bousfield that brought Dalton Dulin home from third. Dulin struck out to open the inning, but reached as the ball went through the legs of the Georgia catcher to put him on base. He advanced to second on a single through the right side from Robinson and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice from Lee to set up the score on the Bousfield hit.

The Rebels will hit the road for the final week of the regular season with four games, starting Tuesday night at Arkansas State. Ole Miss and the Red Wolves will take the field for a 6:30 p.m. start at Tomlinson Stadium in the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Rebels.

Ole Miss will then close out Southeastern Conference play on the road at Texas A&M with a three-game series that starts on Thursday.