Emotions Flare Late as Rebels Fall to Texas A&M in Game One

Ole Miss' winning streak was snapped on Thursday night.

John Macon Gillespie | May 20, 2022

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss baseball's seven-game winning streak came to an end on Thursday night as the Rebels fell to No. 6 Texas A&M 10-5 at Swayze Field.

The Aggies jumped out to a 7-0 lead as Ole Miss starter Dylan DeLucia suffered his first losing decision of the year, lasting 1.2 innings and allowing all seven runs, only three of which were earned after two errors in the second inning.

Ole Miss, however, slowly climbed back into the contest, although it never held a lead. The Rebels scored three runs in the bottom of the second and one run in the fourth and sixth innings.

Dylan DeLucia

The top of the ninth saw extracurricular drama unfold on the field as the Aggies hit back-to-back home runs to push its lead to the final score of 10-5. Words were exchanged on the field, and Rebel relief pitcher John Gaddis threw behind A&M designated hitter Austin Bost.

This followed bench warnings issued to both dugouts, and Gaddis and Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco were both ejected following the events. Rebel assistant coach Carl Lafferty was made available to media after the game as a result of Bianco's ejection, and he stated that the details of what happened in the inning were unclear to him at the time.

"I'm not really sure," Lafferty said. "I'm going to go find out inside, and I'm sure Coach [Bianco] will have a comment on it. I don't know the details or the ramifications with [Bianco]."

John Gaddis

Following the game, an Ole Miss athletics spokesman stated that Gaddis will be suspended four games for the ejection, and the Rebels are still waiting on official word from the league office as to whether or not Bianco will have to miss Friday's game as a result of his ejection.

Lafferty also commented on the Rebels' resilience seen on Thursday night despite the loss and discussed channeling the emotions seen late in the game to a more constructive outcome.

"That's been this club," Lafferty said. "Our season has been what it's been, but they continue to show up and play. Even though it may be some emotion you don't want to see at the end, you love the competitive spirit."

With the loss, the Rebels fall to 31-20 overall this season and 13-15 in SEC play. Game two between Ole Miss and Texas A&M will begin at 7 p.m. CT on Friday on SEC Network+.

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Published May 20, 2022

JOHN MACON GILLESPIE

John Macon Gillespie is the publisher of The Grove Report and has experience on the Ole Miss beat spanning five years.