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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Pomeranz Strikes Out 15 In 9-1 Win Over Oakland
2/26/2010 | Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. - Drew Pomeranz finished one strikeout shy of tying a school and career record for strikeouts as the southpaw fanned 15 batters to help No. 17 Ole Miss (4-1) to a 9-1 win over Oakland (0-1) on Friday at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.
Pomeranz (1-0) picked up the win as he worked 7.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits with 15 strikeouts and no walks. The lone run came on a solo home run in the third inning from Mike Carson. Freshman Jordan Cooper closed out the final 2.0 innings, striking out three batters while allowing no walks and holding Oakland hitless.
"It was a good, consistent game from us tonight," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "Pomeranz was very clean and had great fastball command wise and velocity wise. His breaking ball was terrific and he was extremely sharp today - anyone would have had trouble against him the way that he was throwing.
"Matt Snyder had a great game today as well. He has worked hard at becoming a more complete hitter, going the other way and hitting off-speed pitches. Jordan Cooper made things look pretty easy today for his first time on the mound, commanding the zone and having good control of his pitches."
Snyder paced the offense, going 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored as he hit two home runs in the game. He also drew a walk on the afternoon. Matt Smith also had a solid day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and also drew a walk.
Ole Miss got on the board in the first inning, pushing a pair of runs across to take the early 2-0 lead. Tim Ferguson opened the inning with a walk and moved to second on single from Matt Smith. Both runners scored on a single to center field from Zach Miller to get the Rebels on the board.
Oakland answered with its only run of the game in the third inning on the home run from Carson.
The Rebels extended the lead in the bottom half of the inning, pushing three more runs across the plate to take the lead out to 5-1. Smith walked to open the frame and stole second before Snyder hit the first of his two home runs. Back-to-back errors put Miller and David Phillips on base before Taylor Hightower drew a walk to load the bases. Alex Yarbrough then grounded into a double play at second as Miller crossed the plate for the third run of the inning.
Snyder hit a solo shot to open the fifth inning to notch another run for the Rebels. Phillips then walked and moved to second on another single from Hightower to put two men on base before a single from Yarbrough loaded the bases a second time. Kevin Mort then hit a sac fly deep to center field to score Phillips and move Hightower to third. Hightower crossed home when Yarbrough got caught in a rundown between first and second, allowing the catcher to advance home for the score before Yarbrough was thrown out to end the inning.
Ole Miss capped the scoring in the sixth inning when Smith singled and then scored on a double to left from Matt Snyder to push the lead out to 9-1 - the final margin of victory.
Ole Miss and Oakland will return to action on Saturday when the two teams take the field for a 1:30 p.m. start at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.
