Calarco’s Big Day at the Plate Powers Baseball to Win Over Minnesota

Anthony Calarco drove in five runs and the Ole Miss offense put up a season-high 16 hits as the Rebels beat Minnesota 9-7 for their second win of the weekend in Minneapolis.

The Rebels broke things open early scoring three runs in the first inning. Eight Rebels came up to the plate, stringing together four hits and two walks. Anthony Calarco drove in the first two runs with a bases-loaded single to center field and TJ McCants drove in the third with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Minnesota got on the board in the second inning with a solo home run to make it 3-1. They would tie the game up at three runs apiece in the third inning with back-to-back RBI doubles from Ike Mezzenga and Brett Bateman.

Calarco drove in his third run of the night in the top of the fifth inning as Kemp Alderman came around from first base on a double to left center. Alderman appeared to be out at the plate, but was able to knock the ball out of the catcher’s glove to make it 4-3 Ole Miss.

The Golden Gophers would answer back in the bottom of the inning as Jack Perry hit a two-RBI home run to the deepest part of the park to give Minnesota the 5-4 lead.

Grayson Saunier would end up working five innings on the mound, the longest start of his young career as a Rebel. He struck out 11 batters for a new career-high while issuing just two walks. His 11 punchouts were the most by an Ole Miss starter since Dylan DeLucia struck out 12 hitters against Arizona in the opening game of the Coral Gables Regional last season.

Mitch Murrell would be the first Rebel out of the bullpen, working 2.1 scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts. He allowed just one hit and ended up picking up his first win of the season.

Calarco continued to drive in runs in the seventh inning, picking up his fourth and fifth RBI on a single to left field that scored Calvin Harris and Ethan Groff. His five RBI tied a career-high he set back on March 27 against Illinois with Northwestern.

Alderman made it 7-5 Rebels in the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Jacob Gonzalez from third.

Ethan Lege hit his first home run in a Rebel uniform in the top of the ninth inning, a two-RBI blast from endzone to endzone in U.S. Bank Stadium that made it 9-5 Ole Miss.

Minnesota put together a ninth-inning rally and ended up cutting the Rebel lead in half with a two-RBI home run to make it the final score of 9-7.

Freshman Sam Tookoian earned the first save of his career, working the final 1.2 innings and striking out one batter.

Calarco finished the game 3-for-4 with five RBI and an intentional walk. Gonzalez, Groff, Harris, McCants, Lege, and Peyton Chatagnier all had two hits in the win.

The Rebels will face the other undefeated team on the weekend in the Nebraska Cornhuskers Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports