The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, April 12
Oxford, Miss.
6:30 PM
Ole Miss
25-10, 9-4
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Kentucky
18-16, 2-11
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Ethridge's Gem Highlights Dominant Rebel Win Over Kentucky
4/12/2019 | Baseball
Bianco Picks Up 735th Win at Ole Miss, Ties for 4th All-Time in SEC
OXFORD, Miss. – Junior right-hander Will Ethridge struck out a career-high 11 Friday night, and the No. 10 Ole Miss (25-10, 9-4) offense battered Kentucky for eight runs on 14 hits as the Rebels turned in a dominant 8-2 win.
With the victory, head coach Mike Bianco picked up his 735th win as the Ole Miss head coach, moving him to a tie for 4th all-time with former Kentucky coach Keith Madison on the SEC coaching wins chart.
Offensively, junior shortstop Grae Kessinger remained one of the hottest bats in college baseball, going 4-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored, including his second home run of the season. Sophomore second baseman Anthony Servideo went a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, while Thomas Dillard and Cole Zabowski both turned in multi-hit days as well, including a homer by Zabowski.
Ethridge started the game red hot on the mound, striking out the side in order in the first inning. That set up the Rebel bats to claim the early lead. After a Kessinger single and a walk to Dillard, Zabowski deposited his eighth home run of the season into the bullpen in left field to give the Rebels a 3-0 advantage early.
Ethridge again sat down the Wildcats in order in the second, picking up his fourth strikeout along the way. He kept right on rolling in the third, striking out three straight batters once again to increase his total to seven for the contest.
The junior out of Lilburn, Georgia, allowed his first two baserunners of the game in the fourth, but he started a 1-4-3 double play to erase one, then tallied his eighth strikeout to escape the inning.
The Rebels added some insurance runs for Ethridge in the fifth, starting with a single and stolen base by Servideo. The Rebel second baseman came all the way around from second base to score on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Olenek. Next up was Kessinger, who launched his second home run of the season over the left center wall to make it 5-0, Rebels.
Ethridge tied his career-high with his 10th strikeout in the sixth inning, another clean frame for the Ole Miss starter. The Rebels tacked on one more run in the bottom half. Dillard logged an unconventional double, cracking a ball off the glove of the Kentucky pitcher. It rolled slowly into shallow right field, allowing Dillard to dash around to second. Zabowski made the most of it, driving a ball back up the middle to make it a 6-0 Rebel advantage.
In the seventh, Ethridge struck out his 11th batter of the night to set a new career-high before checking out with an outstanding line: 7.0 innings pitched, three hits and no runs allowed with no walks and 11 strikeouts. Dillard then added another tally in the bottom half, singling through the right side to score Kessinger and make it a 7-0 game.
Houston Roth entered on the mound in the eighth and picked up right where Ethridge left off, striking out the side for the third time in the game for the Rebel staff. The Servideo-Kessinger duo teamed up to add one more run for good measure: a one-out Servideo single, followed by a two-out Kessinger base hit to make it 8-0 in favor of the home team.
Kentucky broke up the shutout, plating two runs in the top of the ninth, but it was too little, too late, as Ole Miss ran away with an 8-2 victory.
The Rebels and Wildcats will continue their three-game series Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
Quick Hits
- With its fifth straight win, Ole Miss improved to 25-10 overall and 9-4 in SEC play.
- With the win, head coach Mike Bianco moved into a tie for 4th all-time on the SEC coaching wins chart with 735.
- Will Ethridge tossed a career-high 11 strikeouts, edging his previous best of 10. He set a new season-high with 7.0 innings pitched. The 11 Ks were the most by a Rebel pitcher since Ryan Rolison struck out 13 against Saint Louis in the 2018 NCAA Oxford Regional.
- Cole Zabowski tied his season-high with four RBI. He hit his eighth home run of the season, putting him in third place on the team behind Thomas Dillard and Tyler Keenan, who have nine apiece.
- Anthony Servideo tied his season- and career-high with three hits. He's on an eight-game hitting streak and has reached base in his last 10 games.
- Grae Kessinger extended his hitting streak to 10 games, and he has reached base successfully in the last 23 games. He has seven multi-hit games in the last 10 contests.
- Tyler Keenan has reached base in the last 17 games.
- Ethridge (11) and Houston Roth (3) combined for 14 strikeouts, the second-most by the Rebels this season, trailing the 15 tallied against Arkansas State.
With the victory, head coach Mike Bianco picked up his 735th win as the Ole Miss head coach, moving him to a tie for 4th all-time with former Kentucky coach Keith Madison on the SEC coaching wins chart.
Offensively, junior shortstop Grae Kessinger remained one of the hottest bats in college baseball, going 4-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored, including his second home run of the season. Sophomore second baseman Anthony Servideo went a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, while Thomas Dillard and Cole Zabowski both turned in multi-hit days as well, including a homer by Zabowski.
Ethridge started the game red hot on the mound, striking out the side in order in the first inning. That set up the Rebel bats to claim the early lead. After a Kessinger single and a walk to Dillard, Zabowski deposited his eighth home run of the season into the bullpen in left field to give the Rebels a 3-0 advantage early.
Ethridge again sat down the Wildcats in order in the second, picking up his fourth strikeout along the way. He kept right on rolling in the third, striking out three straight batters once again to increase his total to seven for the contest.
The junior out of Lilburn, Georgia, allowed his first two baserunners of the game in the fourth, but he started a 1-4-3 double play to erase one, then tallied his eighth strikeout to escape the inning.
The Rebels added some insurance runs for Ethridge in the fifth, starting with a single and stolen base by Servideo. The Rebel second baseman came all the way around from second base to score on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Olenek. Next up was Kessinger, who launched his second home run of the season over the left center wall to make it 5-0, Rebels.
Ethridge tied his career-high with his 10th strikeout in the sixth inning, another clean frame for the Ole Miss starter. The Rebels tacked on one more run in the bottom half. Dillard logged an unconventional double, cracking a ball off the glove of the Kentucky pitcher. It rolled slowly into shallow right field, allowing Dillard to dash around to second. Zabowski made the most of it, driving a ball back up the middle to make it a 6-0 Rebel advantage.
In the seventh, Ethridge struck out his 11th batter of the night to set a new career-high before checking out with an outstanding line: 7.0 innings pitched, three hits and no runs allowed with no walks and 11 strikeouts. Dillard then added another tally in the bottom half, singling through the right side to score Kessinger and make it a 7-0 game.
Houston Roth entered on the mound in the eighth and picked up right where Ethridge left off, striking out the side for the third time in the game for the Rebel staff. The Servideo-Kessinger duo teamed up to add one more run for good measure: a one-out Servideo single, followed by a two-out Kessinger base hit to make it 8-0 in favor of the home team.
Kentucky broke up the shutout, plating two runs in the top of the ninth, but it was too little, too late, as Ole Miss ran away with an 8-2 victory.
The Rebels and Wildcats will continue their three-game series Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
Quick Hits
- With its fifth straight win, Ole Miss improved to 25-10 overall and 9-4 in SEC play.
- With the win, head coach Mike Bianco moved into a tie for 4th all-time on the SEC coaching wins chart with 735.
- Will Ethridge tossed a career-high 11 strikeouts, edging his previous best of 10. He set a new season-high with 7.0 innings pitched. The 11 Ks were the most by a Rebel pitcher since Ryan Rolison struck out 13 against Saint Louis in the 2018 NCAA Oxford Regional.
- Cole Zabowski tied his season-high with four RBI. He hit his eighth home run of the season, putting him in third place on the team behind Thomas Dillard and Tyler Keenan, who have nine apiece.
- Anthony Servideo tied his season- and career-high with three hits. He's on an eight-game hitting streak and has reached base in his last 10 games.
- Grae Kessinger extended his hitting streak to 10 games, and he has reached base successfully in the last 23 games. He has seven multi-hit games in the last 10 contests.
- Tyler Keenan has reached base in the last 17 games.
- Ethridge (11) and Houston Roth (3) combined for 14 strikeouts, the second-most by the Rebels this season, trailing the 15 tallied against Arkansas State.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ethridge, Will (5-2)
L: J. Ramsey (2-3)
Batting:
2B: C. Kessler 1 ; Jr. Shelby 1 ; M. Gei 1
RBI: Jr. Shelby 1 ; C. Hill 1
Base Running:
RUNS: C. Kessler 1 ; Jr. Shelby 1
HBP: A. Schultz 1 ; Jr. Shelby 1
Batting:
2B: Dillard, Thomas 1
HR: Kessinger, Grae 1 ; Zabowski, Cole 1
RBI: Olenek, Ryan 1 ; Kessinger, Grae 2 ; Dillard, Thomas 1 ; Zabowski, Cole 4
SH: Olenek, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kessinger, Grae 3 ; Dillard, Thomas 2 ; Zabowski, Cole 1 ; Servideo, Anthony 2
SB: Servideo, Anthony 2
Game Leaders
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5
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4
RBI
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3
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2
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3
RBI
0
AB
3
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2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
C/OF
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RHP
/ Baseball
IF
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/ Baseball
IF/OF/RHP
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LHP
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RHP
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