Peyton Chatagnier's Two Home Runs Boost Ole Miss Past UCF 8-7

ORLANDO, Fla. -- No. 2 Ole Miss topped UCF 8-7 in a back-and-forth affair on Friday night, highlighted by two home runs from Peyton Chatagnier.

The Rebels fell behind 2-0 early after Derek Diamond surrendered a run in both the first and second innings to the Knights, but the Ole Miss offense continued to fight back, taking a 3-2 lead in the middle of the fifth. After UCF scored four to make it 6-3, Ole Miss hit three consecutive home runs to tie the game at six, one from Peyton Chatagnier, Jacob Gonzalez and Tim Elko.

"I think it shows how mature our offense is," Chatagnier said. "That was probably the most unreal game I've ever played in, but it was a lot of fun."

Chatagnier also put up another home run in the top of the seventh for Ole Miss to extend its lead to 8-6.

Rebel closer Brandon Johnson threw three complete innings on Friday and walked in a run in the eighth before getting out of the jam, but he sat down the side in order in the ninth to help Ole Miss secure the win.

"He's our best guy at the end of the game," Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. "He wanted the ball after he walked the run in, but I could tell after his body language that he was confident. Even though it wasn't pretty in the eighth, it was pretty in the ninth."

As far as Derek Diamond's performance on Friday, Bianco felt that his starter kept his team in the game despite surrendering some runs.

"I thought he competed well," Bianco said. "It's one of those first road games, and they seemed really locked in. Sometimes you deliver a good pitch, and they get a good swing on it. He competed and kept us in it."

Even with the back-and-forth nature of Friday night's game, the Rebels feel that this is a testament to how stout their offense is one through nine. TJ McCants, who hit a home run that gave Ole Miss and early lead, spoke to that belief.

"We try to stay locked in the whole game," TJ McCants said. "From top to bottom, I think we're mature at the plate."

"We can walk, move runners and hit the homer," Bianco said. "Tonight was a big night."

Ole Miss and UCF will square off in game two tomorrow at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

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