Ole Miss handles UT Martin, 12-6

OXFORD, Miss. – After a series win over Tulane this weekend, Ole Miss baseball returned from New Orleans and defeated UT Martin, 12-6, in midweek action at Swayze Field Tuesday evening. 

(Click here for box score.)

Connor Green (2-0) earned the win for the Rebels coming out of the bullpen, and Ryan Olenek recorded his first pitching appearance of the 2019 season. Head coach Mike Bianco discussed both pitchers after the game.

Ole Miss bats continue hot streak

The hitting success Ole Miss (5-2) had in the Tulane series continued in the midweek game as the Rebels hit .375 as a team in the win over the Skyhawks. 

Olenek had a heck of a day for Ole Miss, going 3 for 4 at the plate, scoring two runs and notching an RBI. But it wasn’t just his batting prowess that garnered attention. The Florida native took the mound in the ninth and finished with a line that included no hits, no runs, and no walks —combined with two strikeouts. 

Olenek’s outing on the mound was no last-minute decision. Coach Bianco and staff have been working bullpen sessions with the senior since the fall. Olenek talked with media after the win over the Skyhawks.

At the plate

In addition to Olenek’s success at the plate, Cole Zabowski and Tim Elko added two hits of their own, with Zabowski hammering a home run in the third inning. 

It's called Z-Bo swag. Look it up. pic.twitter.com/8ueZVFxVpx

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 26, 2019

Thomas Dillard and Tyler Keenan also hit home runs in the game. Frankly, this Ole Miss lineup is rivaled by very few teams in the country; there is really no break in it for any pitcher. 

End 3 | Five runs on six hits for the Rebs in the third, including another #DillyDilly bomb at Swayze Field.#RebsBSB 9, UTM 5

💻: https://t.co/IIP88VD70J pic.twitter.com/vAJHJzyQ7s

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 26, 2019

UT opens with a flurry of runs

The Skyhawks made things interesting in the first inning when they took a took a 4-0 lead that stood until Ole Miss came roaring back in the bottom half of the inning with four-runs of their own—highlighted by Tyler Keenan two-run homer that tied the game.. 

UT Martin went on to score one more in the second before the onslaught from the Rebel batters commenced in the third inning. 

Six hits that scored five runs, including the Dillard solo shot, gave Ole Miss a 9-5 lead heading to the fourth inning—and that was all she wrote. The Skyhawks added one in the fifth inning but scored no more as the game ended in favor of the Rebels, 12-6. 

On the mound

Sophomore Jordan Fowler earned the start today, but after allowing five runs through 1.2 innings, just two of them earned, he was relieved for senior Connor Green. 

Green, Kaleb Hill, Taylor Broadway, and Max Cioffi all combined for 6.1 innings with just one earned run and eight strikeouts to completely shut down the confident Skyhawk hitters. 

Green has come into his own in the early goings of the 2019 season, and he has secured his place as one of the premier arms out of the pen—thus far, going a total of 4.1 innings while adding 7 strikeouts to go along with his 0.00 ERA. 

Quick Hits

• Ole Miss improves to 5-2 on the year, and 18-1 all-time against UT Martin.
• All but one member of the Rebel starting nine today recorded a hit.
• Ole Miss came into today averaging two home runs per game, and improved on their average with three long balls today.
• After taking home multiple conference and national player of the week awards, Thomas Dillard continued his hot streak with a solo home run in the third, his fifth of the year.
• Dillard’s five home runs lead the team, with Tyler Keenan, who also hit a homer today, coming in a close second with four.
• Dillard and Ryan Olenek are each on seven-game hit streaks, hitting safely in each game this season.
• Sophomore Carl Gindl had a career day at the plate with four RBI, the most in his two years at Ole Miss. Two of them came on a two-RBI single in the third.
• Gindl also showcased his famed speed later that inning, when Grae Kessinger hit a routine sac fly to center field, and Gindl caught the defense slacking and scored all the way from second base.
• Ryan Olenek showcased his multi-faceted baseball ability with his second career pitching outing today. Olenek entered in the ninth and didn’t allow a baserunner, striking out two on the way.
• Connor Green has been lights out this year in three appearances. He entered today in the second and went 2.1 innings without allowing a run.
• In 42 appearances with the Rebels over four years, Green, a senior, had not recorded a win. Over the last two games, he has picked up two wins.
• Taylor Broadway was also lights out on the mound, going 2.0 innings in relief with just one hit allowed and three strikeouts, the most among Rebel pitchers tonight.

(“Quick Hits” are courtesy of Ole Miss Baseball.)

Next Up:

Ole Miss returns to Swayze this coming weekend to host Long Beach State in a three-game series that begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CT). Saturday’s game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., and Sunday’s first pitch is set for noon.