Strong offense propels No. 10 Ole Miss to 10-4 win over No. 4 South Carolina
Hoover, Ala. – J.B. “Superman” Woodman wasn’t the only superhero for Ole Miss against South Carolina Wednesday. He had a little help from “King Henri,” the All SEC First-Team catcher for the Rebels, as well as the rest of their teammates.
Lartigue was 4-for-5 in win over South Carolina. (Photo credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)
The Rebels (42-16) totaled 12 hits and their pitching, led by David Parkinson (5-3), prevented the Gamecocks from developing any type of offensive rhythm as No. 7 seed Ole Miss defeated No. 2 seed South Carolina, 10-4, in a double-elimination game of the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament inside Hoover Met Stadium.
Parkinson, who threw 90 pitches in 5.2 innings, gets the win after giving up just two runs on five hits and recording six strikeouts.
Lartigue’s three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning was the exclamation mark on a great day for the Rebels. The home run, Lartigue’s fifth on the season, helped secure the victory for Ole Miss.
With the win, Ole Miss will play sixth-seeded Vanderbilt Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. CST. South Carolina (42-14) will play fifth-seeded Texas A&M, which lost to the Commodores 6-5 in the first double elimination game of the day.
I thought again in day two we played some really good baseball. Of course, it always starts on the mound and the pitchers gave us great effort today. They did tremendous against a very talented South Carolina team.
Mike Bianco
The Ole Miss head coach was obviously pleased with his team’s performance Wednesday.
“The middle lineup did it again today, and I thought it was a well-played game for us. We got some timely hits. I thought we played really well tonight.”
Ole Miss’ hit parade
Woodman continues to play like “Superman.” (Photo credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)
Woodman started hot early in the top of the first with a double to score Tate Blackman. Woodman was able to head home off an error by Gamecocks’ shortstop Marcus Mooney. Ole Miss increased its lead to five runs in the bottom of the third after two runs scored (Woodman on an error and one unearned score by Errol Robinson) following Lartigue’s single to center field.
Lartigue then advanced to second on an error by D. Thompson-William, crossing the dish for an unearned score after Colby Bortles reached base on a fielding error by Jonah Bride.
Five Rebels had at least two hits in the game, with Lartigue leading the way with a 4-for-5 effort, his highest of the season. Bortles was 2-for-4; Woodman was 2-for-2. Blackman and Ryan Olenek were 2-for-5.
In the first meeting between the two teams, South Carolina’s starting RHP Clarke Schmidt (9-3) threw 110 pitches in 4.1 innings. This time, as Henri Lartigue noted, the Rebels were able to produce some runs.
We had some success against him last time we faced them. It was all about timing here today. We got hits with runners on. Last time we had all singles, and we weren’t able to push a run across. Today we were able to.
Henri Lartigue
Announcer on Lartigue homer: "That guy has been swinging the hammer of Thor all year." Hotty Toddy! https://t.co/Xtl45KDreH
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) May 25, 2016
Rebels stop South Carolina rally
The Gamecocks were quiet for a while until Alex Destino’s double to right field scored Mooney and Chris Cullen in the bottom of the third. But in the bottom of the fifth, the Rebels quickly returned the favor with a two-run double from Bortles that scored Lartigue and Woodman.
South Carolina scored twice more in the bottom of the seventh with the first run coming from Gene Cone, who scored on an error. Mooney singled, then advanced to second on an error. In the midst of a slight bit of momentum for the Gamecocks, first baseman Will Golsan was banged up after trying to make the catch to get Mooney out at first.
“Marcus (Mooney) contributed two runs and we were playing up hill the rest of the way,” South Carolina’s head coach Chad Holbrook said. “I had no problem with Clarke’s stuff. I would’ve been worried if his stuff wasn’t electric and his slider wasn’t as good.
“He had good life on his pitches just need rhythm and tempo,” the Gamecocks’ head coach explained.
Golsan had appeared to hurt his left hand, but he remained in the game after Bianco and the medical staff came to check on him. He quickly jumped back to his feet and started playing catch with Andy Pagnozzi.
Ole Miss takes control on the mound
David Parkinson (Photo credit: Josh McCoy)
While the offense was superb, Ole Miss’ pitching played a large role in keeping its chances alive for a SEC Tournament Championship.
Parkinson went longer than expected and received a standing ovation from Rebel fans in attendance and high-fives from his teammates.
It felt pretty good today. I have talked to coach about it, and I threw my own pitches. He said to just hit your own spots and see what they can do with it. I think I threw better as the game progressed. Later in the game, I felt strong.
David Parkinson
Pagnozzi came in as his reliever and was followed by closer, Will Stokes. Stokes threw 49 pitches in the final three innings to record his seventh save on the season.
Post-game Notes
Ole Miss is now 32-36 all-time in 21 SEC Tournament appearances, 23-23 under Bianco. The Rebels have won their first two games in the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2008. Ole Miss improved to 40-3 when scoring four or more runs and 37-0 when leading after eight innings this season.
Quotable
“He’s always been a superstar; we love that guy right now,” Bianco’s comments on Woodman’s season. “He has been a star since he stepped on campus. He is such a talent, a smart kid and a great competitor.”
Here’s a clip from the post game press conference. (Video credit: Courtney Smith, The Rebel Walk)
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)
