Rebels Overcome Shaky Pitching, Even Series vs. Maryland

Despite a strange day on the mound, Ole Miss came out on top on Saturday afternoon thanks to clutch hits from Jacob Gonzalez and Anthony Calarco.

OXFORD, Miss. — Despite allowing a plethora of free passes, the No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels evened their weekend series against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday with a 12-6 win at Swayze Field.

As a team, Ole Miss pitchers walked 11 Terrapin batters on Saturday, including walking in three runs in the fifth inning to give the visiting team the lead. The Rebels led 4-2 entering the fifth prior to the walks allowed.

Freshman Grayson Saunier drew the start for Ole Miss on the mound, going 2.2 innings and walking three batters. Sam Tookoian came on in relief out of the bullpen, walking four men of his own after having a hot start to his two-inning outing. The freshman struck out five before struggling in the fifth.

In that same fifth inning, Matt Parenteau entered out of the bullpen, and he finished the day with two walks allowed. JT Quinn and Mason Nichols were called on by head coach Mike Bianco to close out the game late. 

At the plate, Ole Miss had better success in timely hitting than on Friday, pushing across multiple runs with two outs in the early innings. Outfielder Ethan Groff led the way in RBIs with four, and Jacob Gonzalez had a clutch plate appearance late in the game. 

The Rebels trailed 6-4 entering the seventh inning, but pinch hitter Garrett Wood drew a bases-loaded walk, and Gonzalez drove home two with a single to put the Rebels back in front.

The Terrapins appeared to have an opportunity to regain the lead in the eighth inning, but a near-grand slam was caught by right fielder Kemp Alderman against the wall of the Ole Miss bullpen to retire the side. Anthony Calarco then launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to push the Ole Miss lead out of reach.

With the win, Ole Miss improves to 5-1 on the year, and it will look to backend its weekend series against the Terrapins on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. 

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You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.

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