Ole Miss rallies to beat No. 1 LSU in 14 innings
Sikes Orvis had 3 of Ole Miss’ 7 hits vs LSU. (Photo credit: Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)
Ole Miss (10-8, 1-1 SEC) defeated LSU (17-2, 1-1) in 14 innings Saturday night, giving the Tigers their first loss in almost a month and ending their 14-game winning streak. The series is now tied at one game apiece.
The cards were stacked against the Diamond Rebels in Baton Rouge. They found themselves in enemy territory, facing the No. 1 team in the country who also happens to be one of their most hated rivals.
In spite of being struck out 22 times; in spite of several fielding errors; in spite of being victimized by some phenomenal plays by LSU outfielders; and, in spite of facing dire situations in each of the last four innings, the Rebels came out on top during the late hours of the 14th inning as they downed the Tigers 5-3.
(Click here for the box score.)
Let’s take a quick look at how this happened:
Pitching
Rebel pitching was on point. SEC strikeout leader Brady Bramlett took to the hill and gave the Rebels seven strong innings. He gave up six hits, three runs and had two strikeouts.
Bramlett gave way to Scott Weathersby, who pitched 3.2 innings and held the Tigers at bay giving up two hits, no runs, and recording two strikeouts.
Wyatt Short then came in and fought through a couple situations to earn the win. He pitched 2.2 innings, gave up three hits, no runs, no walks and recorded one strikeout.
In the 14th inning with two Tigers on base and one out, Coach Bianco went to the pen again and called on Will Stokes, who fought through a bases loaded situation to get the final outs and earn the save.
Batting
At the plate, the Rebels were led by Sikes (#FearTheStache) Orvis. Sikes went three-for-six on the night and had two RBI’s. He is the senior slugger and tonight he proved why. Errol Robinson had a big two-out hit in the 14th to plate Orvis from second to give the Rebels an insurance run.
The Stache
First baseman Sikes Orvis was the true leader in the victory over the Tigers. He drove in runs and made plays with his glove. Ole Miss had seven hits on the night; Orvis recorded three of those. In the field, the mustachioed team captain snagged a line-drive in the 10th inning as well as caught the go-ahead run off of third for a double-play that was a game-saver.
Looking ahead
Ole Miss finally came out on the winning end of one of these close late-inning games! The Rebels are going for the series victory Sunday afternoon at 3:00 pm. This team will definitely be better in April than it is in March, so stay tuned!
Hotty Toddy and Beat LSU!
