The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, April 26
Oxford, Miss.
6:30 PM
Ole Miss
29-15, 12-8
13
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Texas A&M
30-14-1, 11-8-1
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Texas A&M
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Ole Miss
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13
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2
Offensive Barrage Buries No. 6 Aggies as Rebels Claim Series
4/26/2019 | Baseball
Ole Miss Uses Six-Run Sixth and Seventh Innings to Top Texas A&M
OXFORD, Miss. – Freshman left-hander Doug Nikhazy tossed yet another gem, while the No. 17 Ole Miss bats used six-run sixth and seventh innings to take down No. 6 Texas A&M and secure the series with a 13-3 victory Friday night at Swayze Field.
Nikhazy went 7.0 innings with two runs allowed, one earned, on just four hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts. The Aggies took a 2-1 lead in the top half of the sixth inning, but in the bottom half, a sacrifice fly from Kevin Graham tied it up, back-to-back RBI singles by Ryan Olenek and Grae Kessinger put the Rebels back on top and a massive three-run homer by Tyler Keenan broke the game open and gave Ole Miss a 7-2 lead. The Rebels then tacked on six more in the seventh for good measure in the blowout victory.
The Rebels logged a pair of hits in the first inning off of hard-throwing Texas A&M left-hander Asa Lacy, but a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play nullified the early scoring chance. Sophomore Anthony Servideo broke the shutout on the first pitch of the third inning, sending a shot over the right field wall for his second career home run, and his first of the season.
Nikhazy was fantastic his first time through the order, retiring nine straight Aggies with four strikeouts along the way. The Aggies broke through in the fourth with back-to-back singles, followed by a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one.
Ole Miss threatened in both the fourth and fifth innings. A pair of Texas A&M errors sandwiched around a walk loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, but three straight Rebels went down to leave three stranded. Back-to-back singles by Ryan Olenek and Grae Kessinger put the home team in position to take the lead in the fifth, but the Rebels again came up empty.
After yielding a run in the fourth, Nikhazy rebounded to strike out the side in the fifth, but a pair of miscues put the Aggies ahead in the sixth. After a fourth consecutive strikeout by Nikhazy to start the inning, Bryce Blaum reached on an error, stole second and raced to third when Cooper Johnson's throw skipped into the outfield. That put the Aggie second baseman in position to score on a Zach DeLoach sacrifice fly, giving A&M a 2-1 lead.
The Rebels gave a resounding answer in the bottom half. A walk to Johnson and a hit-by-pitch issued to Michael Fitzsimmons chased Lacy. Left-hander Chandler Jozwiak entered and walked Servideo to load the bases, bringing right-hander Bryce Miller out of the bullpen. Ole Miss countered with a left-handed bat in Kevin Graham. The freshman delivered the game-tying sacrifice fly, but Ole Miss was far from done.
Olenek came through with a go-ahead single to right on a 1-2 count, sending pinch runner Carl Gindl across. Kessinger followed with a rope through the left side to plate Servideo, then Tyler Keenan broke it open with a three-run bomb over the left-center wall to make it 7-2, Rebels.
Nikhazy then retired the Aggies in order, setting up another big inning for the Rebel offense. Johnson again started it with a walk and moved to third on a double into the left field corner by Cole Zabowski. Servideo sent Johnson home with a line-drive single off the pitcher's glove. With two outs, both Servideo and Zabowski came home when Olenek reached on a throwing error by the Aggie third baseman. An infield single by Kessinger and a hit-by-pitch for Keenan loaded the bases once again for Thomas Dillard.
Dillard worked a full count and roped one into left to plate Olenek and Kessinger, then the ball skipped under the glove of the Texas A&M left fielder to allow Keenan to score, making it another six-run frame for the Rebs.
Texas A&M's Allonte Wingate started the eighth inning off with a base hit to left field to signal the end of the night for Nikhazy. Taylor Broadway picked up where the freshman left off, logging a strikeout and a five-four-three double play to end the inning.
The Aggies added one run in the ninth on a Braden Shewmake solo home run, but Broadway came back with two quick outs to end it.
The Rebels will go for the series sweep Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. Freshman right-hander Gunnar Hoglund will be on the hill for the Rebels.
Quick Hits
- Ole Miss improved to 29-15 overall and 12-8 in SEC play.
- Head coach Mike Bianco is now the third all-time winningest coach in Southeastern Conference history, moving past South Carolina's Ray Tanner with 739 wins in his tenure at Ole Miss.
- Ole Miss has now claimed series wins over two top-10 teams (#6 Texas A&M, #8 Arkansas).
- Grae Kessinger has now reached base in 32 straight games. He has hits in 17 of his last 19 games and is on a six-game hitting streak.
- Tyler Keenan extended his lead in the team home run race, depositing his 11th of the season over the left-center wall in the sixth inning.
- Keenan also tied Ryan Olenek in the team hit-by-pitch race, now with 11 apiece.
- Keenan recorded his 15th multi-RBI game of the season and now has driven in 54 runs on the year.
- Nikhazy recorded the second outing of 7.0 innings or more of his career.
- Nikhazy's 10 strikeouts came as a career-high.
- Thomas Dillard has now reached base in 15 straight games.
- Kessinger recorded his team-leading 21st multi-hit game.
- Four Rebels had multiple hits and five scored multiple runs.
Nikhazy went 7.0 innings with two runs allowed, one earned, on just four hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts. The Aggies took a 2-1 lead in the top half of the sixth inning, but in the bottom half, a sacrifice fly from Kevin Graham tied it up, back-to-back RBI singles by Ryan Olenek and Grae Kessinger put the Rebels back on top and a massive three-run homer by Tyler Keenan broke the game open and gave Ole Miss a 7-2 lead. The Rebels then tacked on six more in the seventh for good measure in the blowout victory.
The Rebels logged a pair of hits in the first inning off of hard-throwing Texas A&M left-hander Asa Lacy, but a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play nullified the early scoring chance. Sophomore Anthony Servideo broke the shutout on the first pitch of the third inning, sending a shot over the right field wall for his second career home run, and his first of the season.
Nikhazy was fantastic his first time through the order, retiring nine straight Aggies with four strikeouts along the way. The Aggies broke through in the fourth with back-to-back singles, followed by a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one.
Ole Miss threatened in both the fourth and fifth innings. A pair of Texas A&M errors sandwiched around a walk loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, but three straight Rebels went down to leave three stranded. Back-to-back singles by Ryan Olenek and Grae Kessinger put the home team in position to take the lead in the fifth, but the Rebels again came up empty.
After yielding a run in the fourth, Nikhazy rebounded to strike out the side in the fifth, but a pair of miscues put the Aggies ahead in the sixth. After a fourth consecutive strikeout by Nikhazy to start the inning, Bryce Blaum reached on an error, stole second and raced to third when Cooper Johnson's throw skipped into the outfield. That put the Aggie second baseman in position to score on a Zach DeLoach sacrifice fly, giving A&M a 2-1 lead.
The Rebels gave a resounding answer in the bottom half. A walk to Johnson and a hit-by-pitch issued to Michael Fitzsimmons chased Lacy. Left-hander Chandler Jozwiak entered and walked Servideo to load the bases, bringing right-hander Bryce Miller out of the bullpen. Ole Miss countered with a left-handed bat in Kevin Graham. The freshman delivered the game-tying sacrifice fly, but Ole Miss was far from done.
Olenek came through with a go-ahead single to right on a 1-2 count, sending pinch runner Carl Gindl across. Kessinger followed with a rope through the left side to plate Servideo, then Tyler Keenan broke it open with a three-run bomb over the left-center wall to make it 7-2, Rebels.
Nikhazy then retired the Aggies in order, setting up another big inning for the Rebel offense. Johnson again started it with a walk and moved to third on a double into the left field corner by Cole Zabowski. Servideo sent Johnson home with a line-drive single off the pitcher's glove. With two outs, both Servideo and Zabowski came home when Olenek reached on a throwing error by the Aggie third baseman. An infield single by Kessinger and a hit-by-pitch for Keenan loaded the bases once again for Thomas Dillard.
Dillard worked a full count and roped one into left to plate Olenek and Kessinger, then the ball skipped under the glove of the Texas A&M left fielder to allow Keenan to score, making it another six-run frame for the Rebs.
Texas A&M's Allonte Wingate started the eighth inning off with a base hit to left field to signal the end of the night for Nikhazy. Taylor Broadway picked up where the freshman left off, logging a strikeout and a five-four-three double play to end the inning.
The Aggies added one run in the ninth on a Braden Shewmake solo home run, but Broadway came back with two quick outs to end it.
The Rebels will go for the series sweep Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. Freshman right-hander Gunnar Hoglund will be on the hill for the Rebels.
Quick Hits
- Ole Miss improved to 29-15 overall and 12-8 in SEC play.
- Head coach Mike Bianco is now the third all-time winningest coach in Southeastern Conference history, moving past South Carolina's Ray Tanner with 739 wins in his tenure at Ole Miss.
- Ole Miss has now claimed series wins over two top-10 teams (#6 Texas A&M, #8 Arkansas).
- Grae Kessinger has now reached base in 32 straight games. He has hits in 17 of his last 19 games and is on a six-game hitting streak.
- Tyler Keenan extended his lead in the team home run race, depositing his 11th of the season over the left-center wall in the sixth inning.
- Keenan also tied Ryan Olenek in the team hit-by-pitch race, now with 11 apiece.
- Keenan recorded his 15th multi-RBI game of the season and now has driven in 54 runs on the year.
- Nikhazy recorded the second outing of 7.0 innings or more of his career.
- Nikhazy's 10 strikeouts came as a career-high.
- Thomas Dillard has now reached base in 15 straight games.
- Kessinger recorded his team-leading 21st multi-hit game.
- Four Rebels had multiple hits and five scored multiple runs.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nikhazy, Doug (5-3)
L: LACY (6-3)
Batting:
HR: SHEWMAKE 1
RBI: DELOACH 1 ; SHEWMAKE 2
SF: DELOACH 1 ; SHEWMAKE 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BLAUM 2 ; SHEWMAKE 1
SB: BLAUM 1
Batting:
2B: Keenan, Tyler 1 ; Zabowski, Cole 1 ; Servideo, Anthony 1
HR: Keenan, Tyler 1 ; Servideo, Anthony 1
RBI: Olenek, Ryan 1 ; Kessinger, Grae 1 ; Keenan, Tyler 3 ; Dillard, Thomas 2 ; Servideo, Anthony 2 ; Graham, Kevin 1
SH: Johnson, Cooper 1
SF: Graham, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Olenek, Ryan 2 ; Kessinger, Grae 2 ; Keenan, Tyler 2 ; Johnson, Cooper 2 ; Zabowski, Cole 1 ; Gindl, Carl 1 ; Servideo, Anthony 3
SB: Johnson, Cooper 1
CS: Olenek, Ryan 1
HBP: Keenan, Tyler 1 ; Fitzsimmons, Michael 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
IF
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RHP
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C/OF
/ Baseball
IF
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OF
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IF
/ Baseball
RHP/IF
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C
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LHP/OF
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/ Baseball
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