OXFORD – Ole Miss pitchers struck out 17 Alcorn State batters and walked just two Tuesday night as the No. 25 Rebels defeated the Braves 11-1 at Swayze Field.
The Rebels scored three runs on bases-loaded walks in the seventh to put the game into run-rule territory.
Rebels (23-11) freshman starting pitcher Grayson Gibson allowed a pair of doubles to Alcorn State (7-26) in the first but struck out four of the final five batters he faced and did not allow a run in his two innings of work. Junior Owen Kelly struck out three in his scoreless inning of work. He was followed by freshman Noah Allen, who gave up a solo home run over his two innings. Freshman Leo Odom and sophomore Wil Libbert pitched the final two innings.
“A week ago Odom hadn’t pitched in a game and now he’s pitched in two … when you run guys out there for the first time you want them to look like they belong. He did that last week. Today he looked like a dude,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “ … Proud of him, but proud of a lot of guys.”
With two outs and the bases loaded in the second, junior second baseman Dom Decker lifted a ball deep to right field that Alcorn State’s right fielder misplayed, allowing three runs to score on the double. Senior third baseman Judd Utermark doubled in a run later in the inning. Junior catcher Austin Fawley drove in a run in the third by way of a throwing error to first base in the third, and a two-out, two-run single from sophomore shortstop Owen Paino in the fourth made it 7-0. The Rebels added a run in the fifth before ending the game in run-rule fashion with three runs in the seventh.
Ole Miss hitters walked 18 times and struck out four times. Decker and Paino each had three RBIs.
“Coach B talks about it all the time, it’s about playing the game and playing yourself. And 18 walks today, you just have to stick to your process,” Decker said. “ … Can’t get greedy, can’t chase, and I thought we did a really good job of that tonight and just being patient. And it carries over into SEC games when you make a pitcher work and get your swing off.”
The Rebels host No. 24 LSU for a three-game series starting tomorrow. First pitch of Game 1 is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
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