The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
2-0
Texas Tech
0-2
Baseball Takes Down No. 3 Texas Tech in Thriller
2/21/2021 | Baseball
Rebel Staff Strikes Out 16 Red Raiders in 5-4 Victory
ARLINGTON, Texas — In his second collegiate game, Jacob Gonzalez provided the spark the Rebels needed in the third inning after getting into an early hole. The bullpen took care of the rest despite a late surge as No. 4 Ole Miss held on to defeat No. 3 Texas Tech, 5-4, in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown Sunday afternoon.
Gunnar Hoglund (1-0) had a productive outing in 5.1 innings. Hoglund struck out 11 batters while allowing three hits on 95 pitches. Austin Miller, Max Cioffi, Luke Baker and Braden Forsyth made up a gutsy bullpen performance with the latter getting the save with bases loaded and two outs.
Offensively, Gonzalez went 2-for-4 at the plate, including the first home run of the season for the Rebels. Kevin Graham and Hayden Dunhurst each finished 1-for-3, while five different Rebels scored a run, all of which came in the third inning.
Hoglund started things off on the mound retiring the first three Texas Tech batters with consecutive strikeouts and a groundout to second base. Micah Dallas returned the favor, using nine pitches to get through the Ole Miss order.
Like the previous outing, the opposition used the second inning to get on the board. With two outs, and a walk issued to Jace Jung, Nate Rombach tattooed a homer to deep left center to give the Red Raiders a 2-0 lead. Then it looked as if Ole Miss would respond with runners on base, but all to no avail.
Texas Tech once again threatened in the top of the third inning with runners on after a pair of walks and a throwing error. Hoglund got out of the inning with a strikeout of Easton Murrell on a 3-2 pitch. Then, the Rebels broke through. After Peyton Chatagnier was hit by pitch, Gonzalez hit Ole Miss' first home run of the season with a shot to right field to tie the game. Tim Elko crushed a ball to deep center field, and the Red Raider defender couldn't corral it, resulting in a two-base error. Dunhurst sent the Rebel captain home with an RBI single to give Ole Miss its first lead of the afternoon 3-2.
Dunhurst then swiped second base, as well as third on a wild pitch, and the Rebels took advantage of another throwing error as Dunhurst scored an unearned run while Ben Van Cleve found third base also. Hayden Leatherwood continued the inning and the scoring with another RBI single, plating Van Cleve and giving Ole Miss a 5-2 advantage.
Despite giving up a two-out single, Hoglund finished the top of the fourth inning with three strikeouts while the Rebels failed to expand their lead, leaving Graham and Gonzalez stranded.
After a quick, scoreless fifth inning, Texas Tech tacked on run again via the long ball. Dylan Neuse's solo home run off the right field foul pole cut his team's deficit to 5-3 in the top of the sixth inning. Miller replaced Hoglund after 5.1 innings pitched and ended the frame with no further damage.
Kurt Wilson gave Texas Tech another golden opportunity after Miller retired Rombach and Braxton Fulford, but a blooper to right field by Dru Baker was caught by Cade Sammons, ending the top of the seventh. Eli Riechmann replaced Girton and retired three straight batters after walking Graham to conclude the inning.
Cioffi replaced Miller on the mound and immediately allowed a double by Conley on an 0-2 pitch. After a strikeout of Neuse, Conley stole third base and put the Red Raiders in prime position to cut the lead to one. Dunhurst then caught Murrell stealing second base for a second out. However, a walk to Stilwell put runners at the corners once again. On a 2-2 pitch, Jung popped up to Graham to get out if the half inning unscathed.
After new pitcher Queen quickly made his way through Van Cleve, Sammons and Bench, the Red Raiders had one final chance at the plate. With two outs and Fulford and Baker on first and second base due to walks, Bianco turned to Baker to get the final out. Conley delivered with a clutch single to center field, scoring Fulford and making it a 5-4 ball game. Forsyth immediately succeeded Baker and walked Neuse, loading the bases. On a 3-2 pitch, Murrell hit a deep ball to right field, but Sammons tracked it down, capping off a second straight top-10 victory for the Rebels.
Ole Miss will go for the State Farm sweep tomorrow at when they face the No. 9 Texas Longhorns. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and can be seen flosports.tv or listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
QUICK HITS
- Ole Miss won its 18th consecutive game, breaking a program record that dated back to 1960. The current Rebel win streak dates back to Feb. 15, 2020.
- Gunnar Hoglund finished one shy of a career-high with 12 strikeouts.
- Freshman Jacob Gonzalez hit his first career home run as part of a 2-for-4 day.
- The Rebel bullpen shined once again, going a combined 3.2 innings with just one run allowed on three hits.
- The Rebel pitching staff combined for 16 strikeouts, their most against a ranked opponent since fanning 16 against No. 23 UNCW on Feb. 25, 2017.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hoglund, Gunnar (1-0)
L: Micah Dallas (0-1)
S: Forsyth, Braden (1)
Batting:
2B: Cal Conley 1 ; Kurt Wilson 1
HR: Dylan Neuse 1 ; Nate Rombach 1
RBI: Cal Conley 1 ; Dylan Neuse 1 ; Nate Rombach 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Dylan Neuse 1 ; Jace Jung 1 ; Nate Rombach 1 ; Braxton Fulford 1
SB: Dru Baker 1 ; Cal Conley 2
CS: Easton Murrell 1
Batting:
HR: Gonzalez, Jacob 1
RBI: Gonzalez, Jacob 2 ; Dunhurst, Hayden 1 ; Leatherwood, Hayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Chatagnier, Peyton 1 ; Gonzalez, Jacob 1 ; Elko, Tim 1 ; Dunhurst, Hayden 1 ; Van Cleve, Ben 1
SB: Dunhurst, Hayden 1
HBP: Chatagnier, Peyton 1
