OXFORD — Thomas Dillard had four RBIs Tuesday to lead the No. 7 Ole Miss baseball team to a 9-4 victory against New Orleans at Swayze Field.
The win helped Ole Miss (20-2) become the first 20-win team in college baseball this season.
“I have been feeling pretty good and working with coach Clement to get my swing where it needs to be, focusing on getting pitches up and driving them,” Dillard said. “Luckily, I got two up today and did a good job of driving them.”
Houston Roth (3-0) struck out the first four hitters he faced and cruised through the first three frames before running into trouble in the fourth and fifth innings.
“The stuff was not terrific, but he is a battler,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said of his sophomore right-hander. “That’s what makes him so good. It was one of those tough days. When you score runs and it’s cold, those long innings hurt you where he sat there for a while. I thought he did really well hanging in there.”
Dillard put the game away in the fourth with a three-run triple to give Ole Miss a 7-1 lead.
Former New Hope High School standout Will Golsan followed with an RBI double. Golsan was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple.
Ole Miss will travel to College Station, Texas, to begin a three-game against Texas A&M. Game 1 will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
n Alabama-Birmingham 6, Alabama 4:
At Birmingham, Alabama, the Crimson Tide (16-6) suffered their first mid-week loss of the season in the rain-delayed game at Regions Park.
“It was wet, it was windy and it was a tough night to play,” Alabama coach Brad Bohannon said. “It was the fourth game in a row that we’ve given up a crooked number in the first inning, so we’ve got to find a way to start differently. … If we want to win, we have got to play better baseball.”
Crimson Tide starter Sam Gardner (1-1) allowed five runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out five. The junior threw a season-high 103 pitches in his first mid-week outing of the season.
Cobie Vance and Joe Breaux went 3-for-5, while Chandler Taylor was 2-for-5.
Alabama will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, this weekend for a three-game series against Tennessee. Game 1 will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday (SEC Network+). The final two games of the weekend will air on the SEC Network (5 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday).
n Blue Mountain College 20-7, Mississippi
University for Women 7-1: At Columbus, The W
(10-8) dropped both games of a doubleheader to Blue
Mountain College at Columbus High School.
In Game 1, Prince Tolbert led the Owls with two hits (one double), two RBIs, and one run. Will Peters, Heath Ford,, and Johndavid Birdsong had two hits, while Brandon Jones had two RBIs.
In Game 2, David Standifer scattered 12 hits in a complete-game effort. He allowed five earned runs and struck out six.
Peters, Ford, Damain Benefield, and Nicholas Brooks had hits, while Benefield had an RBI and Tolbert scored a run.
The W will play host to Tougaloo College at noon Saturday in a doubleheader.
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