Behind Saunier’s Strong ‘Saunday’ on Mound, Ole Miss Takes Series over Iowa with Dominant Game-Three Win
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss (8-5) knocked off Iowa Sunday, a Hawkeyes team that was ranked No. 18 just two weeks ago. Here’s a look at all the action from Swayze today.
Rebel pitcher Grayson Saunier started the game with a lead-off walk but quickly recovered, retiring the next three on 25 pitches. Offensively, Jackson Ross worked a walk with two outs and quickly advanced to second base due to a wild pitch. In the next at-bat, Ethan Lege also worked a walk, leaving runners on first and second, but after an Utermark strikeout, the inning was over.
Ole Miss committed two errors early in the top of the second, loading the bases with no outs. That was no reason to panic for the Rebs, however, as Andrew Fischer fielded a ground ball and threw the runner out at home for the first out, followed by a double play from Fischer, who caught a line drive and stepped on third base.
What can’t he do 🤯@sirfischer3 x #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/gShGYG4XXp
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 3, 2024
After an uneventful third and top half of the fourth, Utermark got things rolling by drawing a walk and then advancing to second due to a wild pitch. Luke Hill hit a fly ball to deep center field, allowing Utermark to tag third. With Bo Gatlin up to the dish, Utermark was driven in with a SAC fly, giving Ole Miss a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, Iowa threatened but left a man on third, scoring zero runs. Saunier had gone through five scoreless at this point, with Ole Miss leading 1-0. On offense, the Rebs were able to string together a few walks to load the bases with no outs. Jackson Ross walked to make it 2-0. Iowa would now make a pitching change, but the offensive production did not stop for Ole Miss. Lege extended the lead, this time with an infield single, scoring one.
The Rebs ended the fifth inning by scoring four runs total, and leading 5-0.
Ole Miss pitcher Grayson Saunier’s final line today:
5 IP | 2 H | 0 R | 2 BB | 2 K | 90 total pitches
Five shutout innings for Saunier and the Rebs! #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/IBYzqUFJwu
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) March 3, 2024
Five shutout innings on #Saunday 😤@GraysonSaunier | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/sslMJDwMy3
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 3, 2024
“I was just trying to attack them…just attack them and trust my defense behind me.“
Grayson Saunier on what was working for him today
The Rebels faced a scary moment Friday in the bottom of the fifth when Fischer was hit in the head by a pitch, ending his day sooner than expected.
Coach Bianco talked about the injury postgame.
“He’s okay. They think he has a punctured eardrum, which happens sometimes when you get a ball hit on the head. It shouldn’t be anything — he’ll see an ENT tomorrow — but we’re hopeful and don’t think it’ll be much after that.”
Coach Bianco on Andrew Fischer
Coach Bianco also talked about the work done by Saunier.
“We needed some zeros and (Grayson) was certainly lights-out today. I thought it was one of the best fastball days that he’s had in quite some time.”
Coach Bianco on Saunier
Ole Miss catcher Eli Berch had a front-row seat for the strong Rebel pitching Sunday. He talked about Saunier’s day afer the game.
“Grayson had everything working today. His fastball was on point and every single one was a strike it felt like. He made the sliders work, most of the strikeouts were on teh slider. He kept it in the zone and made my job pretty easy today.“
Catcher Eli Berch on Saunier
Entering the sixth, Wes Mendes took over for Saunier on the bump and struck out the side, pairing a dominant 93 mph fastball with a nasty slider.
In the bottom of the sixth, Berch added one more to the lead to make it 6-0 by cranking a solo shot to left.
“When you get your chance, you’ve got to make it happen,” Berch said of getting the start today.
Moving to the bottom of the seventh, Ole Miss plated another run across home plate due to a wild pitch, which allowed Luke Hill to score. Ole Miss scored its eighth run of the day when Brayden Randle got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
In the top of the eighth, Iowa scratched across the Hawkeyes’ first run of the day by cranking a double into left field off of Mendes, followed up by a two-run shot to bring the score to 8-3. Kyler Carmack took over for Mendes on the mound with two outs and retired the next hitter.
Kyler Carmack remained on the mound and helped finish off the 8-3 win for Ole Miss. Memphis comes to town on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
Top Performers
On the pitching side, Grayson Saunier was dominant, throwing 5 innings with two strikeouts, two walks, two hits, and no runs. Wes Mendes was effective also, throwing 2.2 innings, allowing three runs but striking out eight. Carmack closed it out, throwing 1.1 innings, 13 strikes out of 14 pitches, no runs, and two strikeouts.
The offensive production was led by Eli Berch (3-3, HR, RBI) and Jackson Ross (3 BB, H, RBI), who were incredible at the dish today.
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