Ole Miss concludes regular season with 7-4 win over A&M

Ole Miss Baseball concluded the regular season with a 7-4 win over Texas A&M Saturday at Swayze Field. Game 3 of the series was canceled due to inclement weather.

The victory over A&M gives the Rebels their 30th win on the season, marking 18 straight seasons Ole Miss has achieved 30 wins. The Rebels now boast seven wins over a top-10 team this season.

Rebels excel at the plate vs. Aggies

Ole Miss notched 12 hits in the game as every Rebel in the lineup tallied at least one hit. Errol Robinson, Cameron Dishon and Kyle Watson each had two hits, while Robinson and Will Golsan each had 2 RBIs.

For the game, Ole Miss sported a .429 batting average (12-for-28), while A&M mustered a mere .222 (6-for-27). To emphasize just how well the Rebels performed at the plate, consider these Ole Miss batting averages:

.556 (5-for-9) with runners in scoring position
.563 (9-for-16) with runners on base
.500 (6-for-12) with two outs
.750 (3-for-4) with bases loaded
1.000 (2-for-2) runners on third with less than 2 outs

Aggies strike first

The Aggies (43-10, 18-10) got on the board early with one run on two hits and an error in the first inning.

Ole Miss had a hit in the bottom of the first inning, but they stranded two on base and went to the top of the second trailing A&M, 1-0.

A&M started the second inning off hot as Melton homered to left field to give the Aggies a 2-0 lead.

But Ole Miss pitcher Brady Bramlett appeared unfazed and was able to dig deep and get the next three Aggie batters out: Ottebrok struck out looking; Choruby grounded out; and Barash flied out.

Two-out rally leads to big second inning for Rebels

In the bottom of the second inning, down 2-0 and with two outs, the Ole Miss bats got hot. The Rebels recorded five straight singles and took a 3-2 lead going into the top of the third inning.

Kyle Watson began with a single to center field. Then came Cameron Dishon who singled up the middle to advance Watson to second. Errol Robinson then singled to advance Dishon to second and Watson to third.

With the bases loaded, Will Golsan joined the hitting party. He singled to score Watson and advanced Robinson to second and Dishon to third.

Big Colby Bortles was up next. He singled to third, scoring Dishon and advancing Golsan and Robinson. With the bases loaded again, Sikes Orvis had a great at-bat. He was smart at the plate and drew a walk that plated Robinson. A fielder’s choice ended the inning for Ole Miss, but not before the damage was done and three Rebel runs were scored.

Rebels use stifling defense, hot hitting to increase lead in 3rd inning

Ahead 3-2 going into the top of the third inning, Ole Miss used some razzle-dazzle fielding to help insure it would never relinquish the lead. Robinson and Dishon made two fantastic plays on defense to stifle the Aggies and keep them off the bases.

In the bottom of the third, the Rebels scored three additional runs on four hits to go up 6-2. J.B. Woodman got things started when he led off with a double down the right field line. Nic Perkins then hit an RBI-single to left field. Watson hit a single up the middle, putting Rebels on first and second. Dishon was then walked to load the bases, and Errol Robinson hit a two RBI single to left field, scoring Watson and Perkins. That extended the Ole Miss lead to 6-2.

During the bottom of the fifth, the Rebels drove in another run to push their lead to 7-2.

Aggies threaten in the sixth

Sophomore Ryne Birk belted a two-run homer for the Aggies in the sixth inning that cut the Rebel lead to 7-4, and Brady Bramlett was replaced by junior right-hander Jacob Waguespack. After two batters, Waguespack was replaced by Wyatt Short who came in and held the Aggies hitless. The lefty ended the inning by getting Banks to fly out and Melton to strike out swinging.

Short gets another save

In the top of the seventh and final inning, sophomore Short made quick work of the Aggies. Nottebrok flied out to right field; Hinsley grounded out to second; and, Gideon struck out swinging.

Bramlett gets the win

Brady Bramlett (7-3) earned the win for the Rebels. He allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits while striking out seven batters in 5.0 innings. Short earned his 10th save of the season, retiring all five of the batters he faced in 1.2 innings, including two strikeouts.

Ryan Hendrix (4-2) took the loss for the Aggies, allowing six runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out four in 2.0 innings.

Here are highlights of the win over A&M, courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics and Ole Miss Sports Video. 

Next Up: SEC Tournament

With the victory, the Rebels finished the season in strong fashion, winning six out of their last seven games. They are now positioned as the No 6 seed in the SEC Baseball Tournament that begins Tuesday in Hoover, Ala.

Ole Miss (30-25, 15-14) will face Alabama in the opening round at 9:30 am. The Rebels won the series against Alabama, taking two-of-three from the Tide last month in Oxford.