The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, March 5
Oxford, Miss.
6:30 PM
Ole Miss
8-2
12
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4
Belmont
3-3
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5
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8
9
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H
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Belmont
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Ole Miss
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X
12
11
2
No. 4 Baseball Rolls Past Belmont, 12-4
3/5/2021 | Baseball
Box Score<i class="icon-paper"></i> Box Score (PDF)<i class="icon-video"></i> Highlights<i class="icon-camera"></i> Photos
Elko Homers for Third Straight Game, Rebel Arms Allow Just One Run Before Ninth Inning in Victory
OXFORD, Miss. – No. 4 Ole Miss baseball continued to roll over opponents on Friday night with a lopsided 12-4 victory in the series opener against Belmont. The Rebels have now won their last three contests by a combined score of 40-9 and are cruising into swing day tomorrow behind a dominant effort from the entire Rebel starting lineup tonight.
Ole Miss logged 11 hits in the victory, with three of them coming from the bat of senior captain Tim Elko. Elko was 3-for-5 tonight with a career-high five RBI, two runs, a double, and home run, his third in as many contests. Elko is clearly trending upwards after a slow start to the season, having recorded multiple RBI in each game of his torrid three-game stretch.
Doug Nikhazy (1-1) picked up his first win of the season in his third start and notched a season-best 10 strikeouts in the victory. Nikhazy turned in 5.0 innings on 89 pitches with 10 strikeouts, two walks, two hits, and just one run allowed. The Rebel ace was virtually perfect through three innings, and his first allowed didn't come until the fourth, when Belmont's Logan Jarvis cracked through with a solo homer, the only run of the day for the Bruins before the ninth inning.
Offensively, Elko has been one of the most prevalent figures in a dominant three-game stretch from the Rebels, but it has hardly been a one-man effort. Eight different Rebels were responsible for recording a run tonight, notching either a run or RBI.
The rout was kickstarted by two high-scoring innings to start the game. The Rebels unloaded for four runs in the bottom of the first, followed swiftly by a five-spot in the second. Hayden Dunhurst opened the scoring fest with a sacrifice fly to score Justin Bench, while Elko set the tone for his career day with an RBI double one batter later to score Jacob Gonzalez. Hayden Leatherwood added a run on an RBI single, while TJ McCants capped the first by scoring Cael Baker on a fielder's choice.
It was a hot start offensively for the Rebels in the first inning, but one that was exceeded by a five-run second. Dunhurst notched his second RBI in as many innings with a double, while Elko matched his fellow Preseason All-SEC second-teamer with his second RBI as well just one batter later. Baker and McCants each singled in a run in the frame, while Leatherwood plated one on a sacrifice fly as the Rebels took a 9-0 lead into the third inning.
Ole Miss had already secured their insurance runs in the second, but Elko put the icing on the cake with a three-run homer in the third for his third straight game with a home run. Gonzalez and Dunhurst reached on a pair of walks to open the frame, and Elko cashed in for all three on a 2-1 pitch that he drove over the right field wall into the student section.
The Rebels wouldn't score again for the rest of the game, but it mattered not with an 11-run edge over the Bruins and strong work from the Rebel bullpen. Freshman Cody Adcock relieved Nikhazy to start off the sixth and turned in two scoreless innings, while Mitch Murrell followed suit with one scoreless inning of his own.
Bianco turned to Cole Baker to work the ninth, who quickly ran into some trouble with three walks and a single. One runner scored on a catcher's interference, while another scored on a wild pitch before Baker was pulled for Josh Mallitz to get the final two outs. Mallitz did allow a run to score on an RBI single but quickly bounced back and capped the inning's damage to just three runs and closed out the game with a 12-4 final score.
No. 4 Ole Miss will be back in action tomorrow for swing day of the weekend series vs. Belmont, set for a first pitch of 1:30 p.m. CT from Swayze Field.
Quick Hits
- Ole Miss improves to 8-2 on the year and remains undefeated vs. Belmont with a 3-0 all-time record.
- The Rebels have notched double-digit runs in three consecutive games.
- Tim Elko has now hit home runs in three straight games.
- Elko set a new career high with 5 RBI today. Through the past three games, Elko has nine RBI.
- Doug Nikhazy recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts today, surpassing his previous high of nine last week vs. UCF.
- Justin Bench added another HBP today and leads the SEC in HBP with five on the year.
- Cael Baker recorded his first multi-hit game of the season tonight.
- Mitch Murrell earned his first appearance of the season and the second of his career tonight by working the seventh and eighth innings.
- Cody Adcock has now turned in three scoreless relief outings in a row to open his collegiate career at Ole Miss.
For all Ole Miss Baseball news and information, visit the official athletics site OleMissSports.com. For more social media updates, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Ole Miss Baseball and on Instagram at olemissbsb.
Ole Miss logged 11 hits in the victory, with three of them coming from the bat of senior captain Tim Elko. Elko was 3-for-5 tonight with a career-high five RBI, two runs, a double, and home run, his third in as many contests. Elko is clearly trending upwards after a slow start to the season, having recorded multiple RBI in each game of his torrid three-game stretch.
Doug Nikhazy (1-1) picked up his first win of the season in his third start and notched a season-best 10 strikeouts in the victory. Nikhazy turned in 5.0 innings on 89 pitches with 10 strikeouts, two walks, two hits, and just one run allowed. The Rebel ace was virtually perfect through three innings, and his first allowed didn't come until the fourth, when Belmont's Logan Jarvis cracked through with a solo homer, the only run of the day for the Bruins before the ninth inning.
Offensively, Elko has been one of the most prevalent figures in a dominant three-game stretch from the Rebels, but it has hardly been a one-man effort. Eight different Rebels were responsible for recording a run tonight, notching either a run or RBI.
The rout was kickstarted by two high-scoring innings to start the game. The Rebels unloaded for four runs in the bottom of the first, followed swiftly by a five-spot in the second. Hayden Dunhurst opened the scoring fest with a sacrifice fly to score Justin Bench, while Elko set the tone for his career day with an RBI double one batter later to score Jacob Gonzalez. Hayden Leatherwood added a run on an RBI single, while TJ McCants capped the first by scoring Cael Baker on a fielder's choice.
It was a hot start offensively for the Rebels in the first inning, but one that was exceeded by a five-run second. Dunhurst notched his second RBI in as many innings with a double, while Elko matched his fellow Preseason All-SEC second-teamer with his second RBI as well just one batter later. Baker and McCants each singled in a run in the frame, while Leatherwood plated one on a sacrifice fly as the Rebels took a 9-0 lead into the third inning.
Ole Miss had already secured their insurance runs in the second, but Elko put the icing on the cake with a three-run homer in the third for his third straight game with a home run. Gonzalez and Dunhurst reached on a pair of walks to open the frame, and Elko cashed in for all three on a 2-1 pitch that he drove over the right field wall into the student section.
The Rebels wouldn't score again for the rest of the game, but it mattered not with an 11-run edge over the Bruins and strong work from the Rebel bullpen. Freshman Cody Adcock relieved Nikhazy to start off the sixth and turned in two scoreless innings, while Mitch Murrell followed suit with one scoreless inning of his own.
Bianco turned to Cole Baker to work the ninth, who quickly ran into some trouble with three walks and a single. One runner scored on a catcher's interference, while another scored on a wild pitch before Baker was pulled for Josh Mallitz to get the final two outs. Mallitz did allow a run to score on an RBI single but quickly bounced back and capped the inning's damage to just three runs and closed out the game with a 12-4 final score.
No. 4 Ole Miss will be back in action tomorrow for swing day of the weekend series vs. Belmont, set for a first pitch of 1:30 p.m. CT from Swayze Field.
Quick Hits
- Ole Miss improves to 8-2 on the year and remains undefeated vs. Belmont with a 3-0 all-time record.
- The Rebels have notched double-digit runs in three consecutive games.
- Tim Elko has now hit home runs in three straight games.
- Elko set a new career high with 5 RBI today. Through the past three games, Elko has nine RBI.
- Doug Nikhazy recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts today, surpassing his previous high of nine last week vs. UCF.
- Justin Bench added another HBP today and leads the SEC in HBP with five on the year.
- Cael Baker recorded his first multi-hit game of the season tonight.
- Mitch Murrell earned his first appearance of the season and the second of his career tonight by working the seventh and eighth innings.
- Cody Adcock has now turned in three scoreless relief outings in a row to open his collegiate career at Ole Miss.
For all Ole Miss Baseball news and information, visit the official athletics site OleMissSports.com. For more social media updates, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Ole Miss Baseball and on Instagram at olemissbsb.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nikhazy, Doug (1-1)
L: Bowen (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Crider 1
HR: Jarvis 1
RBI: Ehren 1 ; Jarvis 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Jarvis 1 ; Heaton 1 ; Okins 1 ; Capobianco 1
SB: Shacklett 1
Batting:
2B: Dunhurst, Hayden 1 ; Elko, Tim 1
HR: Elko, Tim 1
RBI: Dunhurst, Hayden 2 ; Elko, Tim 5 ; Baker, Cael 1 ; Leatherwood, Hayden 2 ; McCants, TJ 1
SF: Dunhurst, Hayden 1 ; Leatherwood, Hayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bench, Justin 1 ; Gonzalez, Jacob 3 ; Dunhurst, Hayden 2 ; Elko, Tim 2 ; Graham, Kevin 2 ; Baker, Cael 2
HBP: Bench, Justin 1 ; Elko, Tim 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
3
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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IF
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RHP
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LHP/OF
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