OXFORD – Ole Miss needed just seven hits to make it out of Tuesday night’s game early with a 12-2 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The Golden Lions granted the Rebels 11 free passes to first base with five walks and six hit batters and allowed Ole Miss an easy night at the plate,.
Ole Miss sophomore pitcher Jordan Fowler delivered his best outing of the young season, carrying a no-hitter through 5.2 innings and setting a new career high with 7.0 innings pitched off the start. Fowler was unwavering in his deliverance through the first six innings, holding the Golden Lions scoreless on a lone hit and a pair of walks.
Fowler’s pristine night came under threat in the seventh, when he allowed three leadoff hits in the inning, but nifty defensive play by his middle infielders behind him and an inning-ending double play ensured that one run allowed would be all against the southpaw. He finished the night with six strikeouts, a new season best and one off his career high.
Senior Ryan Olenek was the pack leader at the plate, tying his career best of four hits and setting a new career high with five RBIs as part of his 4-for-5 night at the plate.
Olenek was responsible for six of the Ole Miss runs, with a run to go along with his five batted in. His two-run, two-out single in the eighth inning ended the game after a 10-run rule was implemented.
Poor opposing pitching allowed for minimal offensive output from the Rebel bats. The Golden Lions starter, Daniel Walsh, was not able to record an out in his outing, walking the first three Rebel batters he faced. Ole Miss would go on to send four runs to the plate in the opening frame, all without a hit.
The UAPB arms would again grant the Rebels some more free passes three innings later, in the fourth. Ole Miss plated six in the inning, all with two outs, after five consecutive Rebels reached base.
Jacob Adams, Carl Gindl and Anthony Servideo all reached on a walk, while Tyler Keenan and Chase Cockrell were HBP to keep the runners moving on the base path. Olenek recorded his second hit of the inning to send two more runners home, on a two-run double into left field, and the Rebels exited the fourth inning with a 10-run cushion.
Ole Miss (15-6) will be back in action for the second of two midweek games against the Golden Lions, with a first pitch Wednesday at 3 p.m.
ALABAMA 16, MAINE 0: Alabama recorded a season high for runs in the Tide’s 16-0 shutout win over Maine on Tuesday night at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Tide (18-4) has won its last 10 at home.
“This was a really good win for us all the way around,” said Alabama coach Brad Bohannon. “I was really excited about the way we swung the bats tonight, a lot of hard contact. We had a lot of extra-base hits in the lineup, and I was really excited to see that after the weekend in Ole Miss. I was also really excited about Tyler (Ras). I think he’s gotten better every time out; his pitchability is showing up more. It was just a really good win for us after the tough day on Sunday.”
Alabama collected 16 hits and 11 walks on the way to a season-high 16 runs. The Tide saw eight of its nine starters record at least one hit, led by three-hit performances from sophomore Tyler Gentry and freshman Drew Williamson. Gentry closed out his night at 3-for-5, just a triple short of the cycle, and added two RBI and a team-high tying three runs scored. Williamson was a perfect 3-for-3 and contributed two runs scored, with his three-hit performance setting a new season-high total for the first-year starter.
Joining Gentry with a home run was junior Morgan McCullough and freshman T.J. Reeves. McCullough’s home run was a solo shot, his first of the season, while Reeves kept his in the park for the Tide’s first inside-the-park home run since 2015. The freshman also contributed three RBI, a pair of walks and three runs. Leading the Tide in RBI was Joe Breaux, with the senior registering a career-high four.
On the hill, the Tide used five arms to secure the shutout victory. In total, the Alabama pitchers struck out 13 while walking only four with each arm collecting at least one strikeout by night’s end. Freshman Tyler Ras (1-1) led the way, earning the win with a career-long 5.0 innings of three-hit baseball. The right-hander walked only one while striking out five before handing it over to the bullpen.
Alabama piled on the runs, scoring at least one in all but the first inning. The Tide put up three apiece in both the second and third frames before one in the fourth. UA added a pair in the fifth, one in the sixth, five in the seventh and one final tally in the eighth for the 16-0 win.
The Crimson Tide will now shift its focus to the No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks this weekend at The Joe. The two SEC West foes will meet for a 6 p.m. first pitch to begin the series on Friday followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. start on Sunday.
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