The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Sam Houston State
Rebels Blow Past Sam Houston in NCAA Opener
6/1/2007 | Baseball
OXFORD,
Miller delivered a pair of decisive late-inning hits and a defensive gem as the Rebels defeated
“If we had a game MVP, it would have to be Zach Miller,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “He was terrific all night with two clutch hits and as good a defensive play as I’ve seen a second baseman make all year.”
Miller snapped a 4-4 tie in the fifth inning after opening with a triple and scoring on a ground out by Justin Henry. An inning later, Miller gave the Rebels (38-23) an insurmountable 8-4 lead with a bases-loaded single.
Miller also snuffed a potential, sixth-inning rally by the Bearkats (38-23) after stabbing a Jeremy Hollbach grounder, making a leaping twist and firing a strike to first base to nip Hollbach.
“I’m just trying to help us do what we’ve got to do to win,” Miller said. “On the two big hits, I saw the ball well and tried to make contact and make something happen. It’s a big win for us.”
The Rebels got help from Will Kline (7-2), who worked six innings to pick up the win for the No. 1 seed Rebels. Kline gave up five runs on nine hits, but struck out four, worked out of a bases-loaded jam and was supported by three innings of scoreless relief by Justin Cryer.
“Will didn’t have his best stuff. It wasn’t his best night,” Bianco said. “But you’ve got to love the way he competes. He battled and gave us a chance and we did something with that chance as the game went on.”
Jacob Howard (11-6) took the loss for
“The problem was our three errors. That really hurt us,”
The Rebels got homers from Logan Power and Cody Overbeck to highlight a 12-hit attack. Overbeck added a bases-loaded, two-RBI double in the eighth inning as the Rebels pulled away in the late innings.
Keith Stein, Karl Krailo and Nick Baleski had two hits apiece for
The Rebels play Southern Miss at 5 p.m. in the winners bracket final
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