Ole Miss baseball defeats Arkansas State in midweek action
Tolbert and Nichols Shine On the Mound While Kramer Drives In Two
JONESBORO, Ark. – (Release) Ole Miss baseball (21-16) took down Arkansas State (12-21) Tuesday nightby a final score of 6-3 in Jonesboro.
Peyton Chatagnier went 3-for-5 while Kemp Alderman, Anthony Calarco, Ethan Lege, and John Kramer all had two hits each. Kramer drove in two runs and Calarco scored twice.
Mason Nichols earned the win after pitching three innings of two hit ball. Cole Tolbert pitched two hitless innings of relief, striking out four of the seven batters he faced.
Arkansas State scored two runs in the opening inning, stringing together a leadoff walk, a sacrifice bunt, and three hits to take a 2-0 lead.
Jordan Vera started the game on the mound for the Rebels, pitching two innings and giving up two runs on five hits and a walk. Most of the damage was done in the first inning as he allowed just two hits in the second inning. Alderman also picked up his second outfield assist of the year in the second inning as he threw a runner out at third base from right field.
Tolbert pitched the next two innings for the Rebels, holding the Red Wolves hitless while striking out a career-high four batters.
Ole Miss tied the game in the fifth inning as Chatagnier lead off with a single to center field. John Kramer walked and Will Plattner laid down a sacrifice bunt to move them both over. Chatagnier scored on a fielder’s choice to third base by Ethan Groff. Jacob Gonzalez and Calvin Harris drew back-to-back walks to tie the game at 2-2.
Arkansas State took the lead back in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly to center, but the Rebels would tie it back up in the sixth after Lege hit a triple and scored on a RBi-single by Kramer.
The Rebels grabbed their first lead of the game in the seventh, scoring for the third-straight inning. Calarco drew a leadoff walk, Lege was hit by a pitch, and Chatagnier singled back to the pitcher to load the bases. Calarco scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-3.
Nichols came out of the bullpen in the sixth inning and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four batters.
Ole Miss added two more runs in the top of the ninth inning on four singles and RBI for Lege and Kramer.
Mitch Murrell earned his first save of the season as he struck out the final batter to close out the win.
Ole Miss will host No. 1 LSU this weekend for a three-game series at Swayze Field starting on Friday April 21.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
