The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
14-3, 1-0
Auburn
13-5, 0-1
No. 1 Baseball Opens SEC Play with a Bang, Beats Auburn 13-6
3/17/2022 | Baseball
Jacob Gonzalez Hammers Pair of Homers to Lift the Rebels
Rebel starter John Gaddis took a no decision despite leaving with the lead, allowing four hits in 3.2 innings. Dylan DeLucia earned the win in relief, providing 3.1 strong out of the bullpen.
It took Jacob Gonzalez two pitches to put the Rebs in front, crushing a leadoff homer over the right field fence. It was the first leadoff homer for the Rebels since the California native achieved the feat in game two of the 2021 NCAA Tucson Super Regional.
After a two-run home run in the bottom of the first put Auburn (13-5, 0-1 SEC) in front, Ole Miss (14-3, 1-0 SEC) grabbed the lead right back through a Hayden Leatherwood RBI single and a two-run blast to left-center off the bat of Reagan Burford, his first dinger in a Rebel uniform.
The Tigers struck back for a pair to tie the game in the home half once again, but the Rebs were relentless. After a TJ McCants leadoff walk, Tim Elko smoked a double the other way, allowing McCants to cruise home and recapture the lead for Ole Miss at 5-4.
The Rebels added some insurance in the fourth. The first run scored on Gonzalez's second solo bomb of the game. Then, McCants stole second and when the throw got away at the second base bag, Peyton Chatagnier took advantage to come across the plate.
After failing to score for the first time all night in the fifth, Ole Miss went back to work in the sixth, batting around and busting things open. Two runs came around on a pair of throwing errors that would have ended the inning.
Then, after Justin Bench punched an RBI single up the middle, Elko scored on a throwing error by the Auburn catcher and Bench alertly scored when the ball was put out of play without time being called. Leatherwood followed with a sharp single to right-center, scoring another run to make it 13-4 after five and a half frames.
Auburn got a couple of runs back in the home half of the sixth but by then it was too little, too late as the Rebels moved to 1-0 in SEC play.
The Rebels and Tigers will reconvene Friday night, squaring off at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be available for streaming on SEC Network+ and the call from Plainsman Park can be heard through the Ole Miss Radio Network.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss baseball on Twitter at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Facebook.com/OleMissBaseball, on Instagram at Instagram.com/officialolemissbsb and on TikTok at @olemissbsb. Also, follow head coach Mike Bianco on Twitter at @CoachMikeBianco.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: DeLucia, Dylan (1-0)
L: Barnett, Mason (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Chatagnier, Peyton 1 ; Elko, Tim 1 ; Burford, Reagan 1
HR: Gonzalez, Jacob 2 ; Burford, Reagan 1
RBI: Gonzalez, Jacob 2 ; Elko, Tim 1 ; Bench, Justin 1 ; Leatherwood, Hayden 2 ; Burford, Reagan 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Gonzalez, Jacob 3 ; Chatagnier, Peyton 1 ; McCants, TJ 2 ; Elko, Tim 1 ; Bench, Justin 2 ; Dunhurst, Hayden 1 ; Leatherwood, Hayden 1 ; Burford, Reagan 2
SB: McCants, TJ 1
CS: Chatagnier, Peyton 1 ; Bench, Justin 1
HBP: Gonzalez, Jacob 1
Batting:
2B: Rambusch, Blake 1 ; Hill, Cam 1 ; Ware, Bryson 1 ; LaRue, Nate 1
HR: DiChiara, Sonny 1 ; Dyal, Ryan 1
RBI: Rambusch, Blake 2 ; DiChiara, Sonny 3 ; Dyal, Ryan 1
SH: Wyandt, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rambusch, Blake 1 ; DiChiara, Sonny 1 ; Moore, Brody 1 ; Dyal, Ryan 2 ; Land, Mason 1
HBP: Rambusch, Blake 1
