Baseball
No. 2 Ole Miss Wins Series Opener from UCF
By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
No. 2 Ole Miss pounded the baseball with five home runs to take the first game of series 8-7 against UCF Knights.
Ole Miss (9-0) had home runs off the barrels of TJ McCants, Peyton Chatagnier (2), Jacob Gonzalez and Tim Elko.
UCF took an early 2-0 lead after the second inning. The Knights scratched a run in each frame.
The Rebels starter Derek Diamond settled in after the first two frames. Diamond retired the next two frames in order.
In the fifth inning, McCants belted a three-run home run into the bullpen in right that put the Rebels up 3-2.
UCF answered with four runs in the home half of the fifth.
Ole Miss tied it up in the sixth by three solo home runs by Chatagnier, Gonzalez and Elko in the sixth.
Ole Miss pitcher Riley Maddox earned his first win working 1.1 on the hill of scoreless innings.
Brandon Johnson came into pitch in the seventh to lock up his first save of the year, finishing the final three frames with five strikeouts.
Ole Miss will look to take the series Saturday at 3 p.m. against UCF and can be streamed on ESPN +.
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | L, 24-17 |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | 2:30 PM ABC |