Ole Miss defeats South Carolina in Game One, 5-1

OXFORD, Miss. – On a picture-perfect evening at Swayze Field, coming on the heels of a dramatic come-from-behind victory over LSU in game three last weekend, No. 19 Ole Miss (28-12, 10-8 SEC) looked to ride that momentum into the series with No. 13 South Carolina (26-12, 11-7 SEC).

The Rebels took the lead in the first inning and never relinquished it as they defeated the Gamecocks, 5-1, in game one. Ole Miss pitchers recorded 17 strikeouts on the night.

ＶＩＥＷＳ 😍#PackSwayze pic.twitter.com/QyWNPTZUFM

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 1, 2021

In his first start after being scratched against LSU for what was described as tightness in his bicep, Gunnar Hoglund showed no signs of lingering effects from the layoff. He was impressive: In six innings of one-hit baseball, Hoglund struck-out nine South Carolina batters.

Out of the 73 pitches Hoglund threw, only 16 were balls. The junior faced one over the minimum and allowed no walks, retiring the final 15 hitters he faced.

With the win, Hoglund’s record improves to 4-2 on the season.  “It felt good out there. It was awesome to be back out there competing with the guys,” said the former first-round draft pick.

Teammate Hayden Leatherwood was glad to have Hoglund back. “He was dominant. I was happy for him. Seeing him come out here and do what he did was awesome,” he said.

MID 4| ʜᴏɢʟᴜɴᴅ ɪꜱ ᴅᴇᴀʟɪɴɢ@GunnarHoglund through 4 IP:

52 Total Pitches
39 Strikes
7 Strikeouts
0 Walks
1 Hit

Ole Miss 2, South Carolina 0

📺 https://t.co/rUoSz7OkT2 pic.twitter.com/iEjAnk2oW6

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 1, 2021

In relief, Derek Diamond was equally inspiring. Throwing two innings, Diamond struck out five and only allowed a single run on one Gamecock hit.  “He was as sharp and as dominant as he was last week,” said Bianco.

MID 8 | 𝙁𝙄𝙇𝙏𝙃𝙔 punch out by @_derekdiamond 👊

🖥️ https://t.co/PmMztwphQM pic.twitter.com/Zf2Um8gJmZ

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 1, 2021

Not wanting to leave anything in doubt, Taylor Broadway was brought in to close things out in the ninth inning. He recorded a 1-2-3 inning to preserve the 5-1 Rebel victory.

Rebel centerfielder T.J. McCants continued his success at the plate delivering a 2-for-3 outing. McCants leads Ole Miss with .354 batting average.

Another Rebel hitter in the “hot-at-the-plate” category is right fielder Hayden Leatherwood.  The senior went 2-for-4 with a double Friday. The Leatherwood double was the lone extra-base hit for Ole Miss in game one.

Scoring

Ole Miss led off the scoring with two runs in the first inning when they pieced together a walk, two singles, a South Carolina infield error, and a sacrifice fly.

The fourth inning saw the Rebels extend their lead to 5-0 after Kemp Alderman reached base on a wild pitch and advanced to second on throwing error by the catcher, followed by a Jacob Gonzalez single that plated Alderman, a Peyton Chatagnier walk and a Justin Bench single that scored Gonzalez and Chatagnier.

B4 | First Pitch Swinging!

Gonzalez singles home Alderman to extend the Rebels lead to 3

Ole Miss 3, South Carolina 0

📺 https://t.co/rUoSz7OkT2 pic.twitter.com/4eSmPGJoDO

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 1, 2021

Doubleheader on Saturday

To beat the inclement weather forecasted for Sunday, Ole Miss and South Carolina will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1:30 p.m. Ole Miss will throw Doug Nikhazy in game one and Drew McDaniel in game two of the twin bill.  In his postgame press conference, Bianco noted that Rebel captain Tim Elko, who has been out with an injury, might be used in a pinch-hit role on Saturday.

Hotty Toddy!

(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)