Tigers Tamed: Rebels Win Seventh Straight, Earn First-Ever Sweep in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, La. – Ole Miss picked up its seventh consecutive win on Sunday behind 11 hits and a four-run fifth inning, defeating No. 17 LSU 8-5 to earn the first sweep in Baton Rouge in program history.
Back and Forth Early
Ole Miss had been striking early and often all series long, and Sunday was no exception. Justin Bench wasted no time getting things started, driving the first pitch of the game into the gap for a leadoff double.
First pitch hackin'@JBench_2 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/xvwfhKG3An
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 15, 2022
That was the only pitch of the day for LSU starter Samuel Dutton, who was promptly replaced by Jacob Hasty. A Jacob Gonzalez bunt followed by a Tim Elko groundout brought Bench home and the Rebels took an early 1-0 lead.
With one out in the second inning, Hayden Leatherwood crushed a homer into the right field seats to give Ole Miss a 2-0 lead, followed by a Peyton Chatagnier double.
That guy is WAY gone 😳 pic.twitter.com/FVmo0XeBYk
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 15, 2022
The boys came out ATTACKING! pic.twitter.com/BGBkAS592I
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 15, 2022
Chatagnier would steal third and score on an LSU error, and the Rebels quickly had a 3-0 lead through two innings of play. Chatagnier, who had been struggling at the dish for a large part of the season, talked about his improvement and new approach at the dish.
“I’ve just been trying to be a little more disciplined and stay within myself. Me and Coach Clement worked on some things back at Ole Miss, trying to work on some different things and timing and everything like that and it seems to all be falling into place right now.”
Peyton Chatagnier on his hitting
Tigers Fight Back
The Rebels had starter Derek Diamond on the mound, and with Ole Miss leading 3-0 in the home half of the third inning LSU (33-18, 14-13 SEC) had no intention of staying down. After Jordan Thompson reached base, Josh Pearson promptly brought the Tigers within one with a two-run bomb.
To Infinity & Beyond ✈️@joshpearsonbb2 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/vkd2MbXRgn
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 15, 2022
Diamond would allow no more damage in the third, but Tre Morgan led off the fourth with a solo shot to tie the game at 3-3.
Tre’ ties it up 💣@tre_morgan10 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/9P0W2pCQOZ
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 15, 2022
Power Hour
With the Rebels and Tigers deadlocked, Kemp Alderman came to the plate with Elko on first and one out. He quickly extended his hitting streak to nine games with a moon shot to put Ole Miss right back on top.
RIGHT BACK IN FRONT!!!@KempAlderman | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/vhtYXcu5UE
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 15, 2022
And Ole Miss was not done yet. Leatherwood was next to reach base, and Chatagnier gave Ole Miss some insurance.
Left Field Landing, indeed 💣@peytonchat5 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/BQYQ0J8q6M
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 15, 2022
Holding ‘Em Off
After a Collier Cranford triple and a Josh Pearson RBI double that cut the Ole Miss lead to 7-4 in the fifth, Diamond’s day was done.
Jack Washburn was called upon to replace Diamond, and he got the Rebels out of the inning with no further damage. But Washburn found himself in some serious trouble in the sixth as LSU loaded the bases with two outs, so that prompted a call to John Gaddis.
Gaddis needed just one pitch to strand the Tigers and escape the jam.
Series Secured
With the lead still at 7-4 in favor of Ole Miss, Kevin Graham kept his hot streak going with a clutch RBI single in the eighth to give the Rebels a four run cushion.
Yep, still can't get KG out.@kevgraham11 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/fn9GcsDtHX
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 15, 2022
The Tigers would get one more run, but Brandon Johnson would slam the door and Ole Miss would stay undefeated in the camo hats.
SWEEP IN THE SWAMP! 🧹 pic.twitter.com/wVpovhH647
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 15, 2022
After the game, Rebel head coach Mike Bianco talked about the way his team has stuck together and bounced back from a tough four-week stretch in SEC play.
“I think maybe it’s because we’re an older team and our guys have seen the ups and downs of this league and what it can do to you. Ten days ago it didn’t look real good for us, but they’ve hung in there and played well and I’m really proud of them.“
Head coach Mike Bianco
Hello Hoover!
With the victory on Sunday, Ole Miss (31-19, 13-14 SEC) has locked up a berth in the SEC tournament, something that was still in question before this weekend. An NCAA tournament berth is still not guaranteed, but the Rebels’ RPI has moved inside the 40 mark at 38.
Up Next
If ever there was a massive home-finale weekend, the upcoming weekend certainly is one. The Rebels will finish the regular season at Swayze Field against No. 10 Texas A&M (33-16, 17-10).
The red-hot Aggies finished off a sweep of Mississippi State on Sunday and aren’t going to make it easy for the Rebels’ win streak to continue. Barring any change to the schedule, Ole Miss has a midweek game Tuesday at Arkansas State (11-35).
(Feature image: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Austin Eldridge
Austin has more than ten years in sports media, including sports talk radio, play-by-play broadcasting and journalism. He has followed Ole Miss athletics for his entire life and has covered the Rebels and the rest of the SEC while working in the Memphis media market. Outside of sports media, Austin is a musician and outdoorsman. Before a serious accident forced him to be medically discharged, he was a multi-media journalist with the Mississippi National Guard.
