Dylan DeLucia Throws Complete Game As Ole Miss Captures Game One Win Over Mississippi State

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss' first home SEC win of the season came in a big way on Thursday night as Dylan DeLucia threw a complete game to knock off Mississippi State 4-2 at Swayze Field.

The Rebels drew first blood when an error extended the Rebels' bottom of the first inning, and Kevin Graham hit a three-run home run to put his team up 3-0. Mississippi State would hit two solo home runs of its own on the evening, but a Hayden Dunhurst solo shot in the fifth helped give Ole Miss its fourth run of the night, leading to the final score.

Both the Rebels and the Bulldogs put up five hits apiece over the course of the nine innings, but the largest story for Ole Miss was Dylan DeLucia's performance. The Rebel right hander struck out eight in his appearance, and he finished the game having thrown 117 pitches.

"I caught an extra breath," DeLucia said. "I just felt like I was starting the game again. I knew I had to attack. I missed a couple of spots, and you saw what they did with the ball."

DeLucia, once he caught his second wind, was motivated to close out the game himself in the ninth inning.

"If [head coach Mike Bianco] came up to me, I don't know what I would have said," DeLucia said, "but after the eighth I said, 'I'm finishing this.'"

This is the first complete game from a Rebel pitcher since Doug Nikhazy accomplished the same feat against Mississippi State last season in Starkville.

"I wasn't sure once we got to the sixth and seventh," Bianco said. "You can tell [DeLucia is] very emotional, and usually, it works in his favor, but there are times he starts to overthrow a little bit. The way he threw the eighth, his stuff looked really good."

With the win, Ole Miss improves to 22-15 overall and 6-10 in conference play. The Rebels and Bulldogs will square off again on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

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