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No. 13 Ole Miss Downs Memphis 9-1
Will Allen and Sikes Orvis both hit home runs in the fifth inning to help the Rebels break the game open on the way to the win. Allen went 2-for-3 on the night with two runs scored and two RBI. Preston Overbey went 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Jeremy Massie (2-2) picked up the win for the Rebels, working 5.0 scoreless innings with four hits and two strikeouts.
Ryan Garner (0-3) took the loss for the Tigers, allowing four runs on seven hits with a walk through his 3.0 innings of work.
“We swung the bat well tonight and really played well,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “The middle of the lineup really produced for us tonight, but we had a lot of good offensive performances all around. Jeremy (Massie) was terrific and pitched his way out of a jam with a little help from (Auston) Bousfield in center and then really cruised through the next few innings.”
Ole Miss got on the board in the third inning when Will Jamison scored on a Braxton Lee single to left center. Jamison opened the inning with a triple to right to set up the score on the Lee hit, giving the Rebels the early 1-0 lead.
The fourth inning saw the Rebels break things open, pushing three runs across the plate to take a 4-0 lead on the Tigers. Ole Miss loaded the bases to start things off with a single from Will Allen, a double from Brantley Bell and a walk of Sikes Orvis. Preston Overbey then drove a two-RBI double down the left field line to bring home Allen and Bell to get the scoring started.
Orvis then scored two batters later when Jamison hit a ground ball to second and the Rebel first baseman crossed the plate for the third run in the inning.
Four more runs came home in the fifth as Ole Miss continued to build on the lead over Memphis.
Auston Bousfield doubled to open the frame and stole third before coming home on a single up the middle from Austin Anderson. Allen then hit a home run to left, his fifth home run of the season, to push the Rebels on top by seven runs. Orvis then hit his team-leading seventh home run of the season two batters later, this one a solo shot to right, to put Ole Miss up 8-0 after five innings of play.
A ninth run came home in the sixth inning when Anderson doubled to right, scoring Bousfield from first after the centerfielder reached on a two-out single in the previous at bat.
Memphis broke into the scoring column in the bottom of the sixth when Carter White came to the plate with two men on and one out. The Memphis catcher drove a ball up the middle to bring Jake Little home from second and cut the lead to 9-1. The Rebels turned to the bullpen for Scott Weathersby and the right-hander struck out the next two batters to end the inning and keep the Tigers from cutting into the lead more.
Ole Miss returns to action Wednesday evening, hosting the Thoroughbreds of Murray State at Swayze Field. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
–Bill Bunting, Ole Miss Sports Information