The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Austin Peay
No. 17 Rebels Down Austin Peay 10-2
3/11/2010 | Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss (11-2) posted double-digit hits for the eighth time this season and was efficient in turning those hits into runs as the 17th-ranked Rebels defeated Austin Peay (8-5) by a score of 10-2 on Tuesday to sweep the mid-week series.
Ole Miss claimed the first game by a score of 14-4 on Tuesday night.
Miles Hamblin and Taylor Hashman led the Rebels at the plate with 2-for-4 performances from both hitters. Zach Miller drove in three runs, while Hamblin, Taylor Hightower and Mike Snyder all plated two runs each.
"We've had games like this where we haven't had a ton of hits, but we've been able to get the right hits and get guys in when they're in scoring position," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "That's the bottom line. It's not about batting average. It's about how many runs we score."
Ole Miss scored the 10 runs on 10 hits and also posted 10 RBI in the outing.
Sophomore Matt Crouse (2-0) picked up the win in the start as he worked 3.2 innings and allowed one run on three hits with a walk and a strikeout. The predetermined pitcher of record, Crouse left the game because of pitch count in the fourth inning.
Junior Trent Rothlin then worked 2.1 innings of scoreless and hitless ball with two strikeouts, before freshman Tanner Mathis made his first mound appearance of the season in the seventh. Mathis allowed one run on four hits with a strikeout in his 1.2 innings of work. Freshman Brett Huber then closed out the final 1.1 innings without allowing a hit and striking out one batter.
Austin Peay starter Stephen Huff (2-1) suffered his first loss of the season as he allowed seven runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts in 5.0 innings of work.
For the second straight day, Ole Miss got on the board quickly, but didn't use a home run to do it this time around. With the bases loaded and two outs, Mike Snyder hit a fly ball to shallow left field, driving in two runs and putting runners at the corners with Snyder at first and Matt Smith at third. A wild pitch moved Snyder to second before Hightower came up with a two-RBI single through the right side to push the lead to 4-0 after the first.
Kevin Mort scored in the second inning, reaching on a single and using a sac bunt and a wild pitch to move to third before crossing home on a groundout from Zach Miller that gave Ole Miss a 5-0 lead.
Austin Peay got on the board in the fourth inning with a single run scored when Aaron Browett crossed the plate on a double to left center from Chris Lewellyn. Browett singled to open the inning and stole second before the Lewellyn.
The Rebels got two runs back in the bottom half of the inning when Miller came up with a two-RBI single that scored Mort and Tim Ferguson and pushed the Ole Miss lead 7-1.
The Governors got their second run of the night in the seventh when Michael Blanchard hit a solo shot to straight-away center field with two down in the frame. Austin Peay would score no more, however, as Mathis and Huber would hold the Governors off the boar the rest of the way.
The Rebels would continue to score, adding three more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Matt Smith was hit by a pitch and David Phillips drew a walk before Hashman came up with an RBI single to plate the first run of the inning. Hightower then came up with a two-RBI single a few batters later to plate Phillips and Hashman to give Ole Miss the 10-2 lead that would prove to hold until the final out.
The Rebels will return to action this weekend, hosting the eighth-ranked Louisville Cardinals in a three-game series. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m. at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field between the two ranked foes.
