Ole Miss Baseball Evens Series with Iowa after 12-5 win over the Hawkeyes
OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss bullpen was lights out Saturday evening and third baseman Andrew Fischer had a great day at the plate to help the Rebels even the series against the Iowa Hawkeyes with a 12-5 victory.
Swung back! 🥊 pic.twitter.com/PjVLkKKYrD
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
On the mound
After Gunnar Dennis was named the Friday night guy this past week, sophomore JT Quinn was moved to the next man in the rotation as he got the nod on the bump Saturday afternoon.
Quinn got the first out quickly with a punchout, but then gave up a single and after a few wild pitches, that runner ended up on third. A groundout then scored a run for the Hawkeyes, and Quinn walked the bases loaded before getting the Rebels out of it only trailing 1-0.
At the top of the second, Quinn found himself in a jam once again with two runners on and facing the top of the Iowa order. However, with two outs the righty was able to end the frame thanks to a diving grab from Treyson Hughes in right field.
Go get it, One ‼️@HughesTreyson | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/ZjSdgUbNht
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
The Hawkeyes racked up a pair of singles to begin the third inning, then an error on a throw to first by Andrew Fischer allowed Iowa to take a 2-1 lead. The next Hawkeye batter plated another run via a SAC fly, and shortly after Quinn gave up a two-run shot to left that put the Rebels down 5-1.
Coach Mike Bianco made the call to the pen after the home run, calling on Captain Mitch Murrell to take over for Quinn. The Ole Miss starter finished with 2.2 innings of work, gave up only one earned run, walked two and also punched out a pair as well.
Murrell gave the Rebels 1.1 innings, did not allow a run and only gave up a pair of hits. Bianco then called two-sport star Austin Simmons out of the pen to replace the senior captain. The freshman continued to impress on the bump, beginning his outing with a quick 1-2-3 inning.
Simmons faced six Hawkeye batters and retired all of them in two innings of work. Josh Mallitz came out of the pen to pitch with a 7-5 lead to begin the seventh.
Head Coach Mike Bianco commented on the star freshman in the postgame.
“He was terrific today and that’s twice in one week, first time he’s done that. He continues to get better and just continues to handle all of this, with 11,000 fans today. In a close game, we were able to get a couple runs after he came in and he held them at bay…He’s not a super emotional guy, it’s a slow pulse…the football guys, a lot of the time, that happens for them. They enjoy this. When you run out in front of 65,000 people on national television, 11,000 people doesn’t seem like that much.”
~ Coach Bianco on Simmons’ performance and mentality
Simmons was credited as the winning pitcher for Ole Miss after the victory, making the freshman 2-0 on the season thus far.
Six straight Hawkeyes retired. 🤷♂️@austnsimmons | @OleMissFB pic.twitter.com/w0rUdanpaJ
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
Mallitz has been the ‘lights-out’ guy for Coach Bianco going back two seasons now to the 2022 National Championship run and the junior continued to look the same today, pounding the slider in for strike-after-strike.
After the game, Ole Miss catcher Campbell Smithwick took the time praise the Rebel bullpen.
“They’re unreal, I think we had six scoreless (innings). That’s everything we need…Mal (Mallitz), he’s an automatic zero, it’s crazy. When we can throw guys like that and know we are getting zero, that’s the biggest part.“
~ Smithwick on the bullpen performance
Mallitz keeps the Hawks off the scoreboard in the seventh.
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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
The Rebel reliever did the same in the top of the eighth, stranding a runner on second to allow the Rebels to add some insurance runs before the ninth inning. Mallitz finished with three innings of work, did not allow a run, and punched out two.
Sam Tookoian took over for Mallitz in the top of the ninth. The sophomore needed three outs to help the Rebels even the series and after a leadoff walk, Tookoian was sat down the next three Hawkeyes to end the game.
At the plate
Coming to the plate down a run in the bottom of the first, the Rebels looked to get the bats hot faster than they did a night ago. Ole Miss third baseman Andrew Fischer did just that, taking a 2-0 cut and launching a ball into the student section to tie things up at one.
Fischer spoke with the media postgame about his first at-bat.
“We talk about it in the locker room before hand, no matter what happens in the top of the first we strike back in the bottom of the first. If we throw a zero, then we are going to throw the first punch and that was the gameplan my first at-bat. I got myself in a hitter’s count and put a good swing on it.“
~ Fischer on getting the bats ‘hot’ early
Fisch woke up and chose violence@sirfischer3 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/yluzIkUowv
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
A pair of singles from Jackson Ross and Will Furniss followed by a walk drawn by Ethan Lege brought Hughes to the plate with the bases loaded and one down in the bottom of the third. The Rebel right fielder delivered a run via a SAC fly, scoring Ross to make it a 5-2 game in favor of Iowa.
In the bottom of the fourth, Ethan Groff drew a walk which set up Fischer at the plat with one down. The third baseman then launched his second homerun of the day, this time going the opposite way to left-center field. Ole Miss trailed by one after four innings played.
Andrew Fischer AGAIN! @sirfischer3 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/uQCRj7VMVF
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
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Ole Miss came back to the plate in the bottom of the fifth looking to take the lead. After a quick first out, Hughes sent one back up the middle for a single, Luke Hill then walked, and Campbell Smithwick followed that up with a single to load the bases. Freshman Brayden Randle then recorded an RBI after being hit by a pitch as Hughes scored to tie it at five.
Groff then came to the plate with the bases still loaded and one down, and the senior gave the Rebels a 6-5 lead with a SAC fly that scored Hill.
Rebs in front!
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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
Furniss led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and later Hughes found himself on base again, drawing a walk to put Furniss is scoring position for Smithwick. The Ole Miss catcher delivered, singling to right field which allowed Furniss to race home from second and put the Rebels up two through six played.
The freshman spoke with the media after the game, commenting on his recent success at the plate.
“I feel really good right now. I feel like I have been hitting with guys on base every at-bat. We’re able to make pitchers pitch out of the stretch more…we’ve been putting runs on the board. All the credit goes to our offense, they have been making my job a lot easier.”
~ Smithwick on his recent success at the plate
The freshman @campbellrsoup drives home @WillFurniss!
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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
In the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded, Randle was credit for his second RBI of the day, drawing a walk that scored Lege. The top of the lineup was due up for the Rebels next, and Groff did the same, scoring a run for Ole Miss with a walk that made it 9-5.
Fischer then continued his offensive onslaught with a long single to the left field corner, driving in Smithwick and Randle to give Ole Miss an 11-5 lead with only one down in the frame. Ross then added more support with SAC fly that allowed Groff to tag from third and trot home easily.
Fifth run batted in by @sirfischer3 today!
📺 SECN+ pic.twitter.com/nQ8cvQGRO1
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
CLICK HERE FOR ALL POSTGAME VIDEOS.
Up Next
The Diamond Rebels will be back in action tomorrow in a rubber match to finish out the series against the Iowa Hawkeyes. First pitch is scheduled for 12 pm CT on the SEC Network+.
Kameron Wicker
Kam is an undergraduate 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.
