Dylan DeLucia Dazzles in Ole Miss' 2-1 Win Over Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- In his first start in an Ole Miss uniform, Dylan DeLucia impressed on Friday night as he helped lead Ole Miss to a 2-1 road win over Kentucky.

No. 10 Ole Miss (18-7, 3-4 SEC) struggled for most of the night at the plate, and when DeLucia exited the game with one out in the seventh inning, it had just amassed one unearned run on the Wildcats. Despite this lackluster night offensively, DeLucia combined with John Gaddis and Brandon Johnson in relief kept Kentucky at bay in the later innings.

In all, DeLucia struck out five batters and allowed one unearned run in his start.

"It was really what we were hoping for," Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said of DeLucia. "When you looked at film, we felt like the best matchup for Kentucky on a Friday night was someone who could mix pitches and throw the ball on both sides of the plate. I thought he was terrific."

Dylan DeLucia

DeLucia had worked out of the bullpen all season leading up to Friday night, but Bianco felt that his arm could provide some length for the Rebels to open this series.

"I just wanted to make sure he got some outs and got some zeroes on the board," Bianco said, "and he certainly did more than that."

DeLucia did not find out he was starting until Bianco told him on the flight on Thursday, but he stepped into the role without feeling a lot of weight on his shoulders.

"We finally figured out my changeup in our bullpen on Wednesday," DeLucia said, "and we just tried to keep them off balance. It's not pressure. It's just playing a game, at the end of the day. We want to win, and that's what we're here to do, but this was an all-team effort today."

T.J. McCants

The Rebels' offense only put up five hits on Friday night, the biggest of which came in the top of the ninth inning on a T.J. McCants triple and a two-out single from Hayden Leatherwood that drove him home. Bianco spoke to some of the offensive struggles after the game.

"Obviously it wasn't a good night for us," Bianco said. "They threw the ball into the strike zone and didn't give us free baserunners. It seemed like we had trouble catching up to the fastball, and we swung through more breaking balls than we normally do."

Ole Miss will start freshman Hunter Elliott on the mound tomorrow against Kentucky, and that game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start on SEC Network+.

Hayden Leatherwood

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Rebels? Click Here.

Follow The Grove Report On Facebook and Twitter.