Ole Miss defeats Georgia, 8-7, in walk-off fashion to win Rebels’ first SEC series of the season
OXFORD, Miss. – After Georgia tied up the series Saturday, the Rebels and Bulldogs were back at Oxford-University Stadium for a rubber match to decide the series Sunday afternoon. A late push from UGA to tie it in the top of the ninth was soon spoiled by a walk-off single from TJ McCants to give the Rebels an 8-7 win and their first SEC series victory of the season.
Ole Miss is now 23-21 on the season and 5-16 in the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs fell to 24-20 overall and 8-13 in the league.
On the Bump
Just five days removed from starting in Tuesday’s Governor’s Cup, Grayson Saunier took the mound Sunday for his second start of the week.
Through his first three innings, Saunier stayed unhittable. In fact, the highly-touted freshman kept the Bulldogs off the bases entirely through three played.
En garde
⚔️ @GraysonSaunier pic.twitter.com/bPPcjRmB5d
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
Saunier sat down the leadoff man in the top of the fourth. However, the next Georgia batter collected the team’s first hit of the day. The solo-shot to left put UGA on the score board, making it 2-1 through three and a half.
Saunier continued his impressive outing on ‘Energy Sunday’, picking up his fifth and sixth strikeouts of the day to sit down the Bulldogs in the fifth.
Froze 'em
🥶 @GraysonSaunier pic.twitter.com/tcdDk2kL4U
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
WEB GEM ALERT! Rebel outfielder TJ McCants has been known to make a diving play here and there. This sliding effort gave him another as he stole an out near foul territory for Saunier in the sixth.
TJ putting it all on the LINE today 😤 pic.twitter.com/Pljf92xvEV
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
Saunier’s career day ended after the sixth as Mason Nichols replaced him to begin the seventh. The true freshman’s final line included six complete innings of work, one run off just two hits, no walks and six strikeouts.
Only four times in 21 SEC games this season has an Ole Miss starting pitcher gone a complete six innings, and one of them now belongs to Saunier. Three of those four were Rebel wins, and although the official win didn’t go to Saunier in this game against Georgia, it was by all means a winning effort.
He was asked what he has learned thus far this season. “I’d say I’ve had a lot of adversity,” Saunier said after the game.
“Just learning how to keep battling, keep working everyday. Just keep pushing and keep believing.”
Ole Miss pitcher Grayson Saunier
Final line on @GraysonSaunier's career day against the Dogs as he checks out in line for the win:
6.0 IP
2 H
1 R
0 BB
6 K pic.twitter.com/qwOqS8OnbZ— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
After the game, head coach Mike Bianco praised his starter.
“He’s been good with the slider and some of the off-speed pitches, but best fastball day, command wise. He was able to locate on a tough day…he was really good on Tuesday against (Mississippi) State down in Pearl, 70 pitches and he was really sharp…two really good starts for him and that bodes well for us.”
Coach Bianco on Grayson Saunier
Two singles and an error to begin the seventh plated UGA’s second run of the game, knocking Mason Nichols off the mound before he could record an out.
Jack Dougherty came on in relief with two runners on in a 5-2 ballgame. ‘JFD’ eventually loaded the bases, only to get out of the inning with limited damage to keep the Rebs’ lead at 5-2.
Dougherty again found himself in a bases-loaded situation. This time a single would knock in two Bulldog runners to bring the Rebel lead to just one, 5-4. Shortly after, a groundout to second would tie the game at 5-5 heading to the bottom of the eighth.
Ole Miss would respond in the eighth, scoring two runs to take a 7-5 lead into the ninth. Dougherty headed back out with three outs remaining. Unfortunately, a UGA batter sent a two-run homer into the student section, tying the game at 7-7 to to keep the Bulldogs alive.
The Rebels’ were able to walk it off in the ninth to take their first series win of the season.
Dougherty received his third win of the season, finishing with three innings pitched, giving up five runs off four hits, walking three and striking out two.
At the Plate
After struggling to scratch across runners in Saturday’s contest, Rebel third baseman Ethan Lege decided to give his team some insurance quickly. Jacob Gonzalez led off the first inning with a walk before Lege sent a line-shot towards the scoreboard that would give the Rebs a 2-0 lead.
LeJacked
🚀 @_ethanlege pic.twitter.com/TtGy1vOWQM
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
The bottom of the fourth saw more showers, as Gonzalez pulled one into the student section to extend the Rebel lead to 4-1 heading to the fifth.
Jog Mode: Engage
💣 @jakegonzalez717 pic.twitter.com/8X4KhP8ZYt
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
Ole Miss continued to rely heavily on the long ball, as Chatagnier launched his second homer of the weekend to left to give the Rebs their fifth score and a four-run lead in the sixth.
Peyton with the Pop
🍾 @peytonchat5 pic.twitter.com/CRRheJNxOl
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
Ethan Lege has been one of the hottest hitters in the Rebs’ lineup as of late. The transfer added a go-ahead single to his stat line in the eighth, as McCants raced from second to give Ole Miss a 6-5 lead.
LEGE. IN. THE. CLUTCH. pic.twitter.com/IajQMeiWl4
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
Come through @_ethanlege pic.twitter.com/nq1gtSbbFb
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
The scoring did not stop there. Kemp Alderman blooped one into right field right after Lege, scoring Gonzalez to extend the Rebel lead to 7-5 with three outs to go.
Kemp adds another! pic.twitter.com/aUjvmgaMQy
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
With the game tied at 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth, McCants came to the plate with the winning run at second. He then poked one into the outfield, allowing Judd Utermark to be called safe on a play at the plate to walk it off.
REBS WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN pic.twitter.com/ugBa8LqbAO
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 30, 2023
TJ spoke on his at-bat after the game.
“I haven’t really got too many to fall for me, so I really appreciated getting one in that situation…I saw it was a really close play at the plate; I was hoping he said safe. If he was out, I had confidence in the guy behind me.”
TJ McCants on his walk-off single
Up Next
The Rebels will return to Swayze Tuesday at 11 a.m. for a midweek contest versus Little Rock, then pack up for a road series starting Thursday against the Missouri Tigers.
Kameron Wicker
Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.
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