Rebels Slam ULM, 11-1, in run-rule shortened game
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss graduate Margaret Shelton appeared on Jeopardy Wednesday and won her second-consecutive game. Which begs the clue: This college baseball team is 8-0.
The question: Who are the Ole Miss Rebels? Correct.
Second-ranked Ole Miss used grand slams from Kevin Graham and Tim Elko in back-to-back innings to blow open a tight game and come away with an 11-1 win over Louisiana-Monroe at Swayze Field in seven innings.
“We knew we were capable of doing this (scoring so much on offense) but you just don’t know if you’re going to do it that consistently at the beginning of the year…To swing it like we have through the first couple of weeks, has been really nice to see.”
Coach Mike Bianco on the Rebels’ prolific offense
Although the game ended in a rout, it started out slow with neither team scoring in the first three innings.
The Warhawks finally opened the scoring in the fourth inning. Landon Cato drew a walk and moved to third on a double by Ryan Cupit. Cato scored when Washburn was called for a balk. The Oregon State transfer regrouped and struck out the next batter to limit the damage, but ULM led 1-0.
Ole Miss seems to not like playing from behind. Jacob Gonzalez opened the bottom of the inning with a triple into the right field corner and on the next pitch, Elko drove him in by grounding to short to tie the score 1-1. The Rebels were behind for a total of four pitches.
Turned on one then turned on the jets 💨@jakegonzalez717 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/MdoEbIdcue
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2022
An inning later, the Rebels took the lead.
Kemp Alderman opened the rally with a single up the middle and moved to second on a passed ball. He moved to third when Hayden Leatherwood reached on an infield single and scored when Calvin Harris dumped a single into left field and Ole Miss had a 2-1 edge.
Later in the inning, the Rebels loaded the bases with two outs with a chance to blow the game open. Elko drew a walk to drive in his second run of the game when Leatherwood crossed the plate. Graham followed by driving in runs in a more conventional way.
The Rebels’ left fielder hammered the first pitch he saw over the wall for his fourth homer of the year and his first grand slam. The shot gave Ole Miss a 7-1 lead.
Don't say it
Don't say it
Don't say it
Don't say it
Don't say itGraham Slam™@kevgraham11 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/J6Ghs0RasE
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2022
Elko copied Graham in the next inning. The senior took a pitch and launched it over the centerfield wall with the bases loaded to provide the Rebels with an 11-1 advantage. Like Graham, it was the team captain’s fourth homer and first grand slam of 2022.
Tim… the heck that ball do to you???@TimElko | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/wLdJI7SZ36
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 3, 2022
Jackson Kimbrell came on in the seventh to retire the first two Warhawks and Wes Burton struck out the final batter to end the game due to the mercy rule.
Jack Washburn (2-0) started the game and went five innings giving up just one hit while striking out seven.
The Rebels finished with 11 hits, led by Leatherwood who went 3-for-3. Harris and Justin Bench had a pair of hits each.
Next Up
Ole Miss now packs its bags for the first road trip of the season. The Rebels head to Orlando, Fla., for a three-game series with Central Florida. The first game is set for Friday at 5 p.m.
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
