TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Headlined by a season-high 19 hits and 26 runs, The W Owls baseball team (9-3) defeated Stillman College, 26-6, on Wednesday in a 7-inning mercy rule game.
The Owls started right-hander Drew Williams on the mound for the first two innings. He struggled, giving up four earned runs and five hits.
Junor pitcher RJ Dell took over the pitching duties for the Owls in the third inning, giving up six hits and two runs. He won his fourth consecutive decision this season.
Eiland Clecker took over in the seventh to pitch the final inning.
The Owls offense got going in the top of the second. A leadoff error by the Stillman shortstop and singles by Will Peters and Reese Wagner loaded the bases. Leon “Trey” Petite singled through the right side to bring in the first run of the frame with no outs. Heath Ford then hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring another run. Luke Murphy added to the Owls lead with a single up the middle that scored another run.
The W scored three more runs on walks.
Before the end of the inning, Will Peters pulled in a triple down the right-field line for three runs. Petite roped in another single to bring in Peters from third base. Three more singles put The W in front, 13-0.
Murphy closed out the frame with a run on a wild pitch to end The W’s side of the inning with a 14-0 lead.
Stillman made it to the board in the bottom of the second after a fielder’s choice, two singles, and a walk brought in four runs for the Tigers to cut the Owls lead to 14-4.
The top of the fourth opened with a throwing error by Stillman’s third baseman and an advance to second and a single and stolen base by Damain Benefield to put runners on second and third base for the Owls. Jones singled to left field for an RBI followed by another single to left by Peters to bring in an additional run. With runners on every base, Reese Wagner singled through the left side to give the Owls a 17-4 lead through four.
The W added three runs in the fifth on a single to the pitcher from Jones and bases-loaded walks by Peters and Wagner.
In the sixth, Austin Woodall earned an RBI on a bases loaded walk and Kyle Brown singled to right field for two RBIs to bring the Owls lead to 23-5.
The impressive offensive performance was highlighted by Peters, who went 3-for-5 with a triple and five RBIs. Jones added a stat line of 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, and Wagner went 2-for-2 with 2 RBIs.
“I’m really proud of our guys today. We were outstanding offensively,” said coach Matthew Wolfenbarger. “We were great 1-9, and then guys off the bench swung it well, too. I’m really proud of how clean we were defensively as well. It was good to see several guys play well today coming off of a long break.”
The Owls will be back on the field next Tuesday, when they face Blue Mountain. The first pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for noon.
OLE MISS NO-NO: Ole Miss delivered a historic day at the plate and on the mound, as one offensive-powered inning early in Wednesday’s game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff helped jump start an onslaught of runs in a 25-0 blowout victory.
While the Rebels racked up 25 runs on the offensive side, the pitching staff shut it down on the mound. Four Ole Miss pitchers worked for the first combined no-hitter in school history, and the first no-hitter since Russ Johnson last accomplished the feat in 1966.
The Golden Lions didn’t have their first baserunner until the fourth inning, and even he reached on a dropped third strike. Zack Phillips was tremendous in his first start since transitioning to the midweek role, but he was only asked to work three innings after the Rebel offense put things away early.
Four home runs capped an eight-run third inning, including long balls from Kevin Graham, Knox Loposer, Tyler Keenan and Thomas Dillard.
The 25 runs are the most for an Ole Miss team since they last plated 25 against Southern Miss in April 2003, and 21 hits is the most since they also hit 21 against Kentucky in 2016. Ole Miss has now scored double-digit runs in three straight contests.
Twelve Rebels entered the stat box with a hit today, the most on the year, while eleven also added an RBI to their day’s total.
Tim Elko drove in a run as part of a seven-run fifth inning with his first career triple.
On the mound, Kaleb Hill was the first arm out of the bullpen, and he carried the Rebels through two scoreless innings. He matched Phillips with an even four strikeouts and ensured the no-hitter was intact through the end of the fifth.
Pierce Smith was called upon next in his first appearance of the year, and he went one inning. Taylor Broadway struck out the only three batters he faced in the seventh inning.
The Rebels, up 25 at the midway point of the seventh, then closed out the ballgame following an agreed-upon 10-run rule after seven innings.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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