The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
32-12
Arkansas State
14-23
Baseball Tops Arkansas State in Midweek Slugfest
5/4/2021 | Baseball
Rebels Rack Up 18 Hits in 15-12 Win Over Red Wolves
OXFORD, Miss. —Unlike their 12-1 win over Arkansas State back in February, No. 9 Ole Miss was given all it could handle as a pitching staff, but the offense made sure down the stretch that their outstanding night would not be in vain, scoring in bunches and holding off the Red Wolves 15-12 at Swayze Field for a second time this season.
Ole Miss churned out 18 total hits with Justin Bench and Ben Van Cleve leading the way on career nights for each. Both finished with four hits with a combined five runs while Peyton Chatagnier had a team leading four RBI.
The Rebels dug deep into their pitching arsenal Tuesday with the starter, Cody Adcock going the longest with two innings. Josh Mallitz (4-1) came away with the win with his two-hit, two-strikeout showing in the third inning. As things escalated late, Derek Diamond delivered the save in the ninth inning, the first of his career that ended a wild midweek affair throughout the night.
Adcock was tested early on as the Red Wolves immediately drew first blood. A one-out solo shot to right center field by Liam Hicks gave Arkansas State a 1-0 lead. A single to left by Tyler Duncan and walk issued to Jaylon Deshazier allowed the Red Wolves to threaten, but Adcock left them stranded with a groundout to short. Tyler Jeans proceeded to go 1-2-3 through the top of the Ole Miss order to conclude the first inning.
The Red Wolves recorded another hit to begin the second but again left runs on base. Bench got Ole Miss on the base path for the first time with a one-out double. Jeans shut door of opportunity with consecutive strikeouts, bringing in Mallitz out of the Rebel bullpen.
Offensively, Arkansas State was back at it to begin the third. Hicks again made a impactful swing and started things off with a leadoff double. After a walk to Ben Klutts, Hicks added another run, scoring on a deep double by Duncan to left center field. The Rebels then trailed 2-0 with no outs in the inning. Mallitz battled through and stranded runners on second and third.
The Rebels finally broke through in the bottom half of the third. Three consecutive singles from Van Cleve, Calvin Harris and Jacob Gonzalez put ducks on the pond with no outs. That set up Chatagnier with a fourth single in a row, a two-RBI single that tied the game at two apiece. With runners at the corners following a fly out, Gonzalez scored on a wild pitch and gave Ole Miss the lead with a 3-2 advantage. Bench kept it going with an RBI single that scored Chatagnier and the Rebels led 4-2 after three complete.
Austin Miller started the fourth inning out of the Ole Miss bullpen, and despite giving up two free passes, he struck out the side and set his team up with another big offensive inning. The same trio that loaded the bases back in the third did so with no outs once again. Also like the third inning, Chatagnier was the one who cashed in on the opportunity, thanks to a single to right that scored Van Cleve. The bases were loaded on a few consecutive occasions. A walk and beaned batter allowed Harris and Gonzalez to score, while Chatagnier and Graham scored later after a throwing error.
The Rebels continued to pour it on as Hayden Leatherwood's RBI single and TJ McCants' run off a groundout allowed them to extend their lead even further, 11-2 after four innings of baseball.
Arkansas State broke a two-inning scoring drought in the sixth inning after Hicks came away with another hit, an RBI double to cut the deficit, bringing in Forsyth out of the Ole Miss bullpen. They continued to make things interesting with another home run courtesy of Klutts that scored two and made it a five-run ball game. Deshazier followed that up with a bomb of his own and following a two-RBI double by Jake Gish, the Red Wolves were within striking distance, 11-9. Cole Baker was brought in to try and record the final out, but Parker Rowland continued the rally with an RBI double. The Rebels finally got out of the top half inning with a ground out, but with a much diminished, 11-10 lead. They would respond with more offense.
Leatherwood and Van Cleve hit back-to-back singles to begin the bottom sixth, with Harris getting pinch runner John Rhys Plumlee across the plate with a sac fly. After a Gonzalez single, Chatagnier continued his outstanding night with another RBI single. Baker and Tyler Myers made it through the top half of the seventh as the Rebels tallied even more runs. A Bench single paid off as McCants scored him via RBI double with McCants later scoring himself courtesy of Van Cleve.
Gish countered with another Arkansas State home run in the eighth inning with a one-out bomb to left field that made it a four-run game again. Myers responded by retiring the next two batters. After a one-hit bottom half inning for the Rebels, back-to-back singles from Hicks and Klutts put runners on second and third with no outs in the ninth, the tying run on deck. Derek Diamond was tasked out of the bullpen to close the game out. A ground out to by Duncan scored one to cut it to three, but Diamond recorded the final two outs and came away with the save on Tuesday.
The Rebels now await a trip to Bryan-College Station, Texas, to take on the Texas A&M Aggies in another three-game SEC series beginning Friday, May 7. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and can be viewed on SEC Network+ or listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
Quick Hits
⁃ The Rebels advance to 32-12 overall, 10-1 in midweek games
⁃ Ole Miss moves to 88-25 all-time against Arkansas State
⁃ TJ McCants extended his on-base streak to 23 consecutive games
⁃ Kevin Graham extended his on-base streak to 37 consecutive games, reaching in 42 of 44 games this season
⁃ Calvin Harris made his first career start at first base and later saw his first action at catcher in the sixth inning
⁃ Cael Baker saw his first action at catcher in the fifth inning
⁃ Ben Van Cleve and Justin Bench had a career high four hits
⁃ Derek Diamond earned his first career save
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mallitz, Josh (4-1)
L: Jeans, Tyler (1-2)
S: Diamond, Derek (1)
Batting:
2B: Hicks, Liam 2 ; Duncan, Tyler 1 ; McCutchen, Blake 1 ; Gish, Jake 1 ; Rowland, Parker 1
HR: Hicks, Liam 1 ; Klutts, Ben 1 ; Deshazier, Jaylon 1 ; Gish, Jake 1
RBI: Hicks, Liam 3 ; Klutts, Ben 2 ; Duncan, Tyler 2 ; Deshazier, Jaylon 1 ; Gish, Jake 3 ; Rowland, Parker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tipton, Drew 1 ; Hicks, Liam 4 ; Klutts, Ben 1 ; Deshazier, Jaylon 1 ; Huber, Will 1 ; McCutchen, Blake 1 ; Gish, Jake 2 ; Rowland, Parker 1
HBP: Deshazier, Jaylon 1 ; Rowland, Parker 1
Batting:
2B: Bench, Justin 1 ; McCants, TJ 1 ; Harris, Calvin 1
RBI: Chatagnier, Peyton 4 ; Graham, Kevin 1 ; Bench, Justin 2 ; McCants, TJ 2 ; Leatherwood, Hayden 1 ; Van Cleve, Ben 2 ; Harris, Calvin 1
SF: Harris, Calvin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gonzalez, Jacob 2 ; Chatagnier, Peyton 2 ; Graham, Kevin 1 ; Bench, Justin 2 ; McCants, TJ 2 ; Plumlee, John Rhys 1 ; Van Cleve, Ben 3 ; Harris, Calvin 2
HBP: Bench, Justin 1
