By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
Ole Miss defeats the Missouri Tigers 7-5 on Friday night in the series opener.
A back-and-forth series opener between the Rebels and the Tigers.
Ole Miss (25-19, 8-14 SEC) sophomore Kemp Alderman had a big night at the plate going 4-for-4 with a double, home run, two singles and three RBIs.
Missouri got on the scoreboard first after sending eight men to the plate in the opening frame which brought two runs in to score.
The Rebels starter right-hander Dylan DeLucia threw over 50 pitches in the first and settled in. He did not allow the Tigers to score a run over the next three innings.
Ole Miss responded quickly in the home half of the first with three runs of their own. The Rebels got Justin Bench on by a hit-by-pitch followed by a walk to Jacob Gonzalez. Alderman got his night going with an RBI double.
The Rebels tacked on a run in third after Tim Elko got on base by an error at shortstop then came in on-base knock RBI by Alderman.
Missouri’s shortstop Josh Day led off the fifth and came into score on an RBI groundout.
DeLucia worked 4.0 complete innings and surrendered three runs on eights while striking out four Tiger sluggers and two walks.
Coach Mike Bianco then turned to Mason Nichols out of the bullpen in the fifth.
The Rebels designated hitter Alderman hit his sixth home run of the season in the fifth.
Missouri tied the game in the sixth on a two-run bomb by Luke Mann.
Nichols tossed 1.1 innings allowing two runs on two hits before turning the ball over to Jack Dougherty who logged 1.2 innings against Missouri to pick up the win.
In the eighth, Brandon Johnson came in to close the game out. Johnson finished the night with 2.0 innings.
The Rebels and the Tigers will take the diamond Saturday at 6 p.m. for game two of the series.
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