The University of Mississippi Athletics
Game 2: Ole Miss 6, Texas A&M 4
5/13/2017 | Baseball, Blog
Ole Miss desperately needed a win on a Saturday. The Rebels are on the NCAA Tournament bubble, so each remaining game is precious. Through seven innings, it didn't appear like Ole Miss was going to get the win it needed. Ole Miss hung around throughout the game, but it seemed like A&M's hits just found holes when the Aggies needed it while Ole Miss' found gloves. However, things changed for the better in the eighth for the Rebels. A four-run eighth inning pushed the Rebels past the Aggies to even up the series.
Key Moment: It would take just three batters for Ole Miss to erase the A&M lead. Ole Miss was in business quickly in the eighth inning after back-to-back singles from Nick Fortes and Ryan Olenek to open the frame. Things began to shift Ole Miss' way after an A&M pickoff attempt led to Olenek taking second base by sliding around the tag. Tim Rowe bounced a grounder to the shortstop, but it was misplayed. Both runners would score on that grounder to tie it up, but the Rebels weren't stopping with a tie game. After two strikeouts, Grae Kessinger stepped up and delivered. The freshman smoked one into the left-center gap for a double to bring home Rowe and give Ole Miss its first lead. Two batters later, Will Golsan provided Rebel closer Dallas Woolfolk an extra run of insurance with an RBI single. Woolfolk would secure the win for the Rebels in the top of the ninth.Â
Player of the Game: Grae Kessinger. Ole Miss needed someone to step up to give the Rebels a much needed win. That player turned out to be Kessinger. With a 2-2 count in a tie game, the freshman produced one of his best swings of the year as he crushed the pitch into the left-center gap. Outside of the late-inning heroics, the Ole Miss shortstop was on base all night as he walked in two other plate appearances.Â
Quotable: "It was great," Kessinger said. "You dream about stuff like that, getting the big hit and everybody going crazy. It was a big win for all of us to give us momentum going into tomorrow. Games like this can turn everything around in a heartbeat. Baseball is a great game for that reason. You can struggle for a little bit then come out and play a great game and everything is fixed."
