Column: Against Georgia, Ole Miss’ Grayson Saunier owned the strike zone, proving why he was a highly-touted recruit
OXFORD, Miss. — It’s extremely rare for any pitcher to go six full innings and have but one 3-ball count and one 2-0 count, but that is precisely what Ole Miss’ Grayson Saunier did Sunday against Georgia.
In complete command from the moment he stepped on the mound, Saunier’s only full-count situation occurred after he was first up on the batter at one ball and two strikes. After wasting two pitches, he got him swinging.
His lone 2-0 count also ended with a strikeout.
That was basically it for falling behind the Georgia hitters. Saunier faced 18 others without as much as a 2-0 count or a 3-ball count. There would be no freebies handed out by the starting Ole Miss pitcher on this day.
The homer in the fourth inning that spoiled Saunier’s perfect-game bid came on a 1-1 pitch.
The only other hit that Saunier allowed occurred with two outs in the sixth inning and came on his first pitch. He got the next hitter on a one-pitch fly out.
That is about as much in command as a pitcher can be, particularly when the pitcher is a true freshman who’s pitching at Swayze in a starting role in the SEC for only the second time in his career — not to mention the pressure of winning a crucial game in the standings and the team’s first SEC series victory.
(Click here: Saunier named SEC Freshman of the Week.)
It was the first lead that Saunier has worked with as a pitcher in SEC competition (the Rebs went ahead 2-0 in the first on an Ethan Lege homer), and he was a man on a mission to hold that lead.
That’s exactly what he did.
Only in three other SEC games has an Ole Miss starter gone six full innings — Jack Dougherty has done it twice and Xavier Rivas once. The Rebels have now won three of those four with their only loss coming at A&M after a long weather delay benched Dougherty.
This is the Grayson Saunier we’ve been expecting to see. Now, with the season in the home stretch, it’s encouraging for Rebel Nation to see what he’s truly capable of when he’s on his game as he was Sunday in the clincher.
David Walker
David Walker was named Louisiana’s High School Player of the Year at just 16 years old and, at 17, became college football’s first quarterback to earn Freshman of the Year honors. He remains the NCAA’s youngest-ever starting quarterback, a distinction that has stood for decades.
Transitioning from a wide-open high school offense to Emory Bellard’s renowned wishbone triple option, Walker excelled as a dual-threat quarterback. He graduated as Texas A&M’s all-time winningest quarterback and served as a two-time team captain, helping to transform a program that had endured 15 losing seasons in the previous 16 years.
After his playing career, Walker coached and taught algebra at six Texas high schools before moving into private business. In 2011, he published his memoir, “I’ll Tell You When You’re Good,” a title inspired by the coaching philosophy of Shannon Suarez, the Sulphur High and Louisiana High School Hall of Fame coach who was a significant influence on Walker’s life and career.
Walker’s compelling storytelling in his autobiography reflects the breadth of his experiences in high school and college football, and it is an undeniable fact that he saw more action than any athlete in the history of the NCAA. Since 2013, he has contributed to The Rebel Walk, sharing his insights and expertise with readers.
