Ole Miss Baseball's Midweek Win vs. Memphis: Three Takeaways
After a shaky start that saw two Memphis Tiger runs come across in the top of the first, a couple of shutdown innings and bombs helped the Ole Miss Rebels prevail on Wednesday night in a 5-3 final score.
Here are three takeaways from the action at Swayze Field.
Ole Miss RHP Riley Maddox
Ole Miss Athletics
Riley Maddox Battled
After giving up two runs in the top of the first off a walk and two singles, Riley Maddox was nails.
Maddox went four straight scoreless with six strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year. Great job from Maddox to battle after giving up runs early.
This is a great sign as Maddox could be called upon to come out of the bullpen in big-time moments in conference play. Also, with the rotation in flux, who knows; Maddox could be used as an opener, if it came to that.
No Knockout Blow
The Rebels had a couple of opportunities to blow the game open but couldn't seem to execute with runners on base.
This continues to be a trend for the Ole Miss baseball team. This marks multiple games in a row where the Rebels held on, but as the team begins to face better competition, it could come back to hurt them.
The Rebels had homers from Ethan Groff, Ethan Lege, and Reagan Burford. Jackson Ross also recorded an RBI double in the sixth. Groff and Ross continue to be the cornerstones of this offense, and Lege has been on a heater all season with his .342 average, going hitless in just two games. All three of them can flex with the long ball as well, always a plus.
Bullpen Shuts The Door
Besides one run scored on an Austin Simmons passed ball, the Tigers had no answers.
Brayden Jones was especially good as he pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Simmons traded in his pads for his glove, as he participated in the first day of spring football practice on Wednesday prior to first pitch. He had two strikeouts in his inning of work. Connor Spencer closed the door and secured the win, as he recorded his second save.
The bullpen continues to be the strength of this team, and the Rebels have tons of arms at their disposal and seem to be dripping in confidence at the moment.
The Rebels host Morehead State this weekend, and all games will be broadcast on SEC Network+.