HottyToddy.com’s Daily Ole Miss Sports Roundup

HottyToddy.com is giving readers a roundup of all the commentary and information about the Ole Miss Rebels from various publications around the Web.

Readers will be able to check out the latest information in a single post every day throughout the year. Here at HottyToddy.com, we are doing all the leg work to find the information that people may want to hear about Ole Miss sports.

Today’s roundup features the Rebel Walk, Arizona Sports and Ole Miss Sports.

Wyatt Short prepared to take the mound as a starter if Ole Miss needs him

Wyatt Short
Photo by Joshua McCoy Ole Miss Athletics

When Wyatt Short was called up to replace Andy Pagnozzi in the top of the fourth inning against then-No. 10 South Carolina last Saturday afternoon, he quickly sprinted to the mound and ran out to a standing ovation.

And it was well-deserved as Short showed his usual poise while facing 19 Gamecocks’ batters in 5.2 innings, giving up only one hit and one run in the process. Short threw a total of 66 pitches—a surprise to many since he has primarily been used as a closer for the Rebels.

But Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco was forced to go with the veteran Short sooner than planned after seeing his freshman starter give up six hits and three runs in 3.1 innings. Fortunately for the Rebels, Short was prepared—explaining he is ready whenever his name is called.

Short ready to do whatever Rebels need

The junior left-handed pitcher from Southaven, Mississippi wants to do whatever it takes to help No. 11 Ole Miss (20-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) win games this season in the highly competitive SEC.

“I’m here to do whatever the team needs me to do,” said Short, who’s tied with Scott Bittle for fourth-most career saves in school history (18).

Courtesy of Courtney Smith and the Rebel Walk.com

Report: Ole Miss DT Robert Nkemdiche to get pre-draft visit with Cardinals

Robert Nkemdiche Photo by Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics

The NFL Draft is less than one month away and the Arizona Cardinals continue to bring in prospects for visits to their Tempe training facility.

The latest player linked to the Cardinals for a visit is on the defensive side of the ball, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Nkemdiche was an All-SEC First Team and All-American Second Team selection in 2015 when he had 29 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks for the Rebels. Coming out of Grayson High School in Loganville, GA in 2013, Nkemdiche was considered the top overall recruit in the nation by Rivals.com and chose Ole Miss over offers from every major college program in the country. Mike Mayock of NFL Network has Nkemdiche rated as the second-best defensive line prospect in this year’s draft class, behind only DeForest Buckner of Oregon, making him a possibility for the Cardinals, who have the 29th pick in the first round. Nkemdiche’s draft stock took a bit of a hit last December when he fell out of a fourth-floor window of an Atlanta hotel. Police later found marijuana in Nkemdiche’s room and he was charged with drug possession. He was also suspended and didn’t play in Mississippi’s 48-20 win over Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl. At the NFL Combine in February, Nkemdiche talked about the incident. “It was a rash decision by me — uncharacteristic,” he said. “That’s not who I am. That’s not what I stand for. That’s not what my family stands for. It was embarrassing for me and my whole family, the Ole Miss family. I tell them that’s not the kind of player they’re getting.” Nkemdiche, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 294 pounds, participated in Ole Miss’ pro day Tuesday, and according to Bleacher Report, opted not to run a 40-yard dash. He did, however, show off “rare athleticism, explosiveness and power” while participating in positional drills.

Courtesy of Vince Marotta and Arizona Sports.com

Rebels Drop Heartbreaker to No. 23 Kentucky

Photo courtesy of Kevin Bain

Despite dropping the doubles point, the Ole Miss women’s tennis team won the top three singles matches to secure a 3-1 lead against No. 23 Kentucky, but couldn’t close the door, as the Wildcats rallied for a 4-3 win Thursday night at the Gillom Sports Center.

The match came down to No. 6 and a pair of seniors in Ole Miss’ Marija Milutinovic and Kentucky’s Kirsten Lewis. Milutinovic held a 5-2 lead in the first set, but Lewis rallied to take it 7-5. Milutnovic regrouped and won the second set 6-3 to force a winner-take-all third set. A quick break by Milutinovic to start the third set and the Rebels were in business. Milutinovic was serving 3-2, but got broken. Lewis held her serve and then broke again to serve for the match at 5-3. Milutinovic broke back at love but on her ensuing service game, could not hold, as Lewis clinched the 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win and the team victory for Kentucky.

After dropping the doubles point and with just three indoor courts, the Rebels still managed to put themselves in a good position to win by taking all three top singles matches, two of which went three sets. Senior Mai El Kamash won her match in straight sets and then sophomore Arianne Hartono rallied to take her match 6-2 in the third for a 2-1 Rebel lead. Natalie Suk fought off a match point to win her match 7-6(4) in the third at No. 2 singles. Her opponent served for the match twice and held a match point serving at 5-4, but Suk won the point and ended up forcing the tiebreaker.

Notables…
• The Rebels are now 9-7 overall and 2-7 in the SEC.
• It marked the Rebels’ fourth 4-3 match of the season. They are 1-3 in those.
• Arianne Hartono improved to 18-8 overall and 11-2 at No. 1 singles. She is now 5-2 in the SEC. Hartono also earned her seventh ranked win of the year.
• Mai El Kamash improved to 17-8 overall, 7-3 at No. 3 singles.
• Natalie Suk evened up her record at No. 2 singles to 6-6.

Next up…
Ole Miss welcomes the defending NCAA Champion, Vanderbilt, to the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center Saturday at 1 p.m. It will be Senior Day, and the Rebels will celebrate seniors Mai El Kamash, Marija Milutnovic and Allie Robbins.

Quoting Head Coach Mark Beyers…
“Sports is really cruel sometimes, but we fought our tails off. It comes down to 6-4 in the third. Proud of the girls for the effort, we just came up short. It’s unfortunate, but with only three indoor courts, it’s hard to have a home court advantage when the match takes six hours. The people who were here saw a tremendous college tennis match.”

For more information on Ole Miss Women’s Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at OleMissWTennis. Also follow Coach Beyers on Twitter, @MarkBeyers.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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