The University of Mississippi Athletics
Team Cioffi Wins Pizza Bowl as Baseball Closes Fall Season
11/12/2021 | Baseball
Team Cioffi Uses Homers, Dominant Pitching in 6-2 Victory
OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss baseball team wrapped up its fall season with the 2021 Pizza Bowl at Swayze Field on Friday night.
Max Cioffi's team ran away with a 6-2 victory over Tim Elko's squad as the Rebels closed the book on six weeks of work at Oxford-University Stadium, which included exhibition wins over Alabama and Little Rock.
Ole Miss will conclude the semester next week with the annual Omaha Challenge, a week of physical and mental tests. Both individual and team champions are crowned after five days of competition.
Derek Diamond, who will return as the two-time defending Omaha Challenge champion, also played a major role in Team Cioffi's victory Friday night. The Rebel right-hander threw two scoreless innings to set the tone, allowing just one baserunner on a walk along the way.
Meanwhile, the Team Cioffi bats came to life in the second inning as Hayden Leatherwood and Calvin Harris each blasted solo home runs to right field to make it a 2-0 game through two.
Hunter Elliott picked up right where Diamond left off on the hill, retiring three straight with two strikeouts to set the stage for more runs for the team in red. Kevin Graham started it with a monster solo home run to right. Jacob Gonzalez reached on a walk and Leatherwood stayed hot with a double to right to put two in scoring position. Garrett Wood delivered with a two-RBI single to make it a 5-0 ballgame through three.
Elliott punctuated his outing, going 1-2-3 once again. The freshman left-hander fell behind his final batter 3-0 but fought back for a strikeout to cap a flawless two innings of work.
Jack Dougherty, after allowing three runs in the third, bounced back with a 1-2-3 fourth to stabilize things for Team Elko. Jack Washburn took over from there with another three-up, three-down inning.
Drew McDaniel picked up right where Elliott left off in the fifth, retiring three straight Team Elko batters. The no-hitter continued into the sixth, where TJ McCants broke the spell with a one-out base hit to center. Team Elko manufactured one run out of the situation, but McDaniel escaped with minimal damage and a 5-1 lead.
Washburn was exactly the stabilizing force Team Elko needed, notching another scoreless inning to keep the boys in blue within striking distance. Banks Tolley delivered a ground-rule double and eventually came home on a McCants sacrifice fly to make it a 5-2 ballgame.
Dylan DeLucia took the reins in the seventh for Team Elko and earned three quick outs to keep the gap at three with three to play. Matt Parenteau did the same for Team Cioffi with a scoreless eighth inning. DeLucia ran into trouble there, allowing a run on an RBI single by John Kramer, prompting Elko to bring in Mitch Murrell out of the bullpen. The junior right-hander escaped the jam with just the one run allowed.
Riley Maddox took the hill in the ninth for Team Cioffi and turned in a scoreless inning, escaping a jam to keep it a four-run ballgame. Brandon Johnson followed suit in the bottom half for Team Elko to send it to the 10th with the score 6-2, but the comeback wasn't meant to be. Maddox slammed the door shut to signal the end of the fall season for the Rebels.
Max Cioffi's team ran away with a 6-2 victory over Tim Elko's squad as the Rebels closed the book on six weeks of work at Oxford-University Stadium, which included exhibition wins over Alabama and Little Rock.
Ole Miss will conclude the semester next week with the annual Omaha Challenge, a week of physical and mental tests. Both individual and team champions are crowned after five days of competition.
Derek Diamond, who will return as the two-time defending Omaha Challenge champion, also played a major role in Team Cioffi's victory Friday night. The Rebel right-hander threw two scoreless innings to set the tone, allowing just one baserunner on a walk along the way.
Meanwhile, the Team Cioffi bats came to life in the second inning as Hayden Leatherwood and Calvin Harris each blasted solo home runs to right field to make it a 2-0 game through two.
Hunter Elliott picked up right where Diamond left off on the hill, retiring three straight with two strikeouts to set the stage for more runs for the team in red. Kevin Graham started it with a monster solo home run to right. Jacob Gonzalez reached on a walk and Leatherwood stayed hot with a double to right to put two in scoring position. Garrett Wood delivered with a two-RBI single to make it a 5-0 ballgame through three.
Elliott punctuated his outing, going 1-2-3 once again. The freshman left-hander fell behind his final batter 3-0 but fought back for a strikeout to cap a flawless two innings of work.
Jack Dougherty, after allowing three runs in the third, bounced back with a 1-2-3 fourth to stabilize things for Team Elko. Jack Washburn took over from there with another three-up, three-down inning.
Drew McDaniel picked up right where Elliott left off in the fifth, retiring three straight Team Elko batters. The no-hitter continued into the sixth, where TJ McCants broke the spell with a one-out base hit to center. Team Elko manufactured one run out of the situation, but McDaniel escaped with minimal damage and a 5-1 lead.
Washburn was exactly the stabilizing force Team Elko needed, notching another scoreless inning to keep the boys in blue within striking distance. Banks Tolley delivered a ground-rule double and eventually came home on a McCants sacrifice fly to make it a 5-2 ballgame.
Dylan DeLucia took the reins in the seventh for Team Elko and earned three quick outs to keep the gap at three with three to play. Matt Parenteau did the same for Team Cioffi with a scoreless eighth inning. DeLucia ran into trouble there, allowing a run on an RBI single by John Kramer, prompting Elko to bring in Mitch Murrell out of the bullpen. The junior right-hander escaped the jam with just the one run allowed.
Riley Maddox took the hill in the ninth for Team Cioffi and turned in a scoreless inning, escaping a jam to keep it a four-run ballgame. Brandon Johnson followed suit in the bottom half for Team Elko to send it to the 10th with the score 6-2, but the comeback wasn't meant to be. Maddox slammed the door shut to signal the end of the fall season for the Rebels.
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