Feigl Neutralizes Hog Bats As Rebels Even Series

One through nine, there is an argument to be made that Arkansas possesses the most potent lineup in the Southeastern Conference. Seven of its nine hitters are batting .320 or better. Every hitter but one has an OPS of .800 or better.There is no remission, no place allowing an opposing pitcher to breathe for a moment or skate by on a sailing or elevated mistake."They fight and battle," Nick Fortes said. "They don't miss pitches over the plate. You have to be perfect with them. They're a good hitting club and you have to make pitches."The team is slugging .537 and has clubbed 47 home runs. It had homered in 12 straight games until meeting Ole Miss' Brady Feigl, who scattered seven singles over 5.1 innings in a 5-4 Rebel win to even the series. Feigl moved to 6-1 on the season. He limited hard contact. Three of the singles did not leave the infield."You know who you're playing," Feigl said. "Arkansas has one of the best lineups in the SEC. It is one of the best we will face all year. One thing we always preach is that we play ourselves so it doesn't matter who is in the other dugout."He largely neutralized a group of bats who'd inflicted terror on some of the nation's best pitching thanks to a changeup he leaned on more heavily than he has in any other outing this season, along with a good fastball and slider to complement it."That always makes you happy," Feigl said. "The defense was tremendous tonight. That is what helped the most along with the confidence to fill up the zone."He survived a second inning in which the Hogs tagged him for two runs to take a 2-1 lead on an infield single and a ball that squirted through the left side. The junior righty became more aggressive after that and blanked them in the final three frames he was in the ballgame."Coach pulled me aside after the second and told me I wasn't doing anything wrong, I just was kind of passively attacking them," Feigl said. "He said to go after them. Go let your best stuff have it and let the chips fall after that. The biggest thing is to fill it up and use your best stuff in the zone. After he told me that it started working a little better."The fastballs came more frequently in the later innings. Feigl left to an ovation in the sixth and a bullpen combination of Greer Holston, Dallas Woolfolk and Parker Caracci held off the Razorback offense for the final eleven outs."I thought he was terrific," head coach Mike Bianco said. "They're really good, and like us, can put an inning together. I thought it was a good mix of all three pitches. He used his changeup more today than he maybe has all year and went to his fastball later in the game. He was terrific."This was a back-and-forth game in which each team led in the first three innings. Ole Miss made enough plays on both fronts, like Fortes who clubbed a hanging breaking ball over the left field fence to extend Ole Miss' lead to 5-2, two precious runs the team would need. He also hosed the tying runner going from first to second in the eighth inning that helped Caracci slip out of a jam."It had just enough," Fortes said. "I thought I was going to have to leg out a double so I am thankful it went out. I have been struggling a little bit and it helped us get over the top."Caracci responded from a hectic eighth inning by striking out the side in the ninth in overwhelming fashion to preserve the one-run win. The sophomore fireballer has shown the ability to overpower some of the best hitters in the country with a fastball that creeps up to 97 and a slider with a lot of bite."Parker is something special," Ryan Olenek said."It just shows his composure," Fortes said. "He knows he has some of the best stuff in the country and the some of the best I have ever seen. That eighth inning he was trying to do a little too much, and in that ninth he was doing what he has done all year: mowing guys down and filling up the zone."Ole Miss will attempt to take the series with James McArthur on the hill tomorrow against Arkansas' Kacey Murphy. First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT.

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

Parker Caracci

Brady Feigl

Nick Fortes

Greer Holston

James McArthur

Ryan Olenek

Dallas Woolfolk

The University of Mississippi Athletics