Rebels Offense, Will Furniss Shine in Dominating Win Over Delaware
OXFORD, Miss. -- There were plenty of questions surrounding the 2023 Ole Miss Rebels baseball team after its national title run last season, especially on offense.
On Friday, however, they answered the bell, at least for one night.
The Rebels routed the visiting Delaware Blue Hens at Swayze Field 11-2 on Friday night to open their 2023 campaign. Ole Miss put up 13 hits (four of which were home runs) and scored in bunches in two separate innings.
Second baseman Peyton Chatagnier hit a three-run home run in the second inning, and he was followed by blasts from TJ McCants, Will Furniss and Ethan Groff in the eighth. The last two names on that list are new to Ole Miss' roster in 2023: Groff after transferring in from Tulane and Furniss, a true freshman.
Furniss comes by prowess at the plate naturally, one would think. His father, Eddy Furniss, was a standout player for the LSU Tigers in the 1990s, having his number retired by the university and being inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
The younger Furniss did not start Friday's game, instead coming in as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. In his first collegiate at-bat, he launched a ball over the right field wall, showing that, perhaps, Ole Miss could have a special player of its own with that last name.
"I was just honestly looking for a base hit there," Furniss said after the game. "First official AB as a college hitter, you don't go up there thinking home run. I got 0-2, took a couple of good pitches, and I ended up catching one good."
Even with a baseball pedigree like that of his family, legacy was not on the young player's mind as he rounded the bases following the big fly. In fact, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what his thoughts were as he headed home.
"Honestly, not much," Furniss said with a laugh. "Your mind is all scrambled. Now that I've got that one out of the way, I'm more comfortable at the plate."
Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco, an LSU alum like Furniss' father, has seen this family legacy come full-circle. It's far too early to tell if the son will be as good as the father, but, for one night, he made his mark on college baseball.
"He's a hitter," Bianco said. "His dad was one of the all-time greats. I got to watch it up close, a couple years of it. It's tough to do what he did, sit on the bench for seven innings in the cold and put an at-bat like that together with two strikes.
"Just excited for him. I'm sure you dream your whole life to play college baseball and have a swing like that."
Ole Miss continues its series against the Blue Hens on Saturday at noon CT at Swayze Field. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.
You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.
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