Ole Miss Falls to Vanderbilt on Opening Day of the SEC Baseball Tournament

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

No. 9 seed Ole Miss’ SEC Baseball Tournament run in Hoover, Ala. ended on Tuesday in the first round against the No. 8 seeded Vanderbilt Commodores 3-1.

Ole Miss sits at 32-22 overall after the pitcher’s duel. The Rebels starter Dylan DeLucia against Vanderbilt’s Carter Holton.

“Holton was terrific,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “Just really good command of all his stuff. We could not catch up to his fastball.”

Holton went 6.0 innings and held the Rebels scoreless on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Against Holton Bianco thought that the Rebels had good at-bats early even not getting to the fastball.

In the third inning, Vanderbilt got on the scoreboard. The Commodores right field Spenser Jones who came in on a base rip by Dominic Keegan.

Vandy scored two more runs in the fifth and sixth with a run each frame.

Keegan finished the game going 2-for-3 at the plate with two base knocks and an RBI.

DeLucia (5-2) worked 4.1 innings and surrendered two runs on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks picking up the loss.

“Tonight, was just not good enough,” DeLucia said. “I need to do better.”

Bianco made the call to the bullpen for the arm of Josh Mallitz in the fifth. Mallitz tossed 3.2 innings and surrendered a run on a hit with five strikeouts on the night.

The Rebels pitching staff recorded a total of eight strikeouts.

In the seventh, Ole Miss got on the board after a leadoff walk by Peyton Chatagnier came into score on an RBI base knock by Justin Bench.

Ole Miss now turns its attention to selection Monday to see where they will go in the NCAA Tournament.

“We are going to stay together,” Bench said. “It’s up to those ten guys on the committee to see if we got in.”