'Really Sharp!' RHP Grayson Saunier Thrives in Blowout of High Point
The headlines from Sunday's game will obviously center around the offense, but one of the biggest takeaways from the Ole Miss Rebels' domination of the High Point Panthers was the performance of RHP Grayson Saunier on the mound.
The Rebels dominated the visiting Panthers 25-2 on Sunday, securing a series win in run-rule fashion. Even with five home runs hit as a team, the Panthers were held at bay throughout the contest by the Ole Miss pitching staff, a group that saw its start come in four innings from Saunier on the hill.
Saunier gave up three hits, two walks and one earned run as he was credited with his first win of the season, striking out five across his four innings pitched.
Grayson Saunier
Ole Miss Athletics
"I thought he was really sharp," Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. "About as sharp as I've seen him in quite some time in real games. You can see why he can be so special. Throw the ball low-to-mid 90s, command a slider, and he threw a few changeups today."
Ole Miss put up 11 runs in the first inning alone, so Saunier had the struggle of long waits in the dugout between his appearances on the mound. In fact, during that first inning, he had to get up to throw and stay loose twice as the Rebels did damage at the plate.
"It's tough when you have that break," Bianco said. "It's kind of a double-edged sword. You want the big leads, but sometimes the big leads lead to sitting on the bench a lot.
"You want the lead, but can you compete and pitch like it's an SEC weekend? Can you challenge yourself to pitch like it's 0-0? That's what we tried to do."
That experience was a new one for Saunier who gave credit to his offense for an incredible conclusion to the series, one that saw them score a combined 37 runs over the course of two days.
"I've never really had to do that before," Saunier said. "Hats off to our offense. That was incredible and fun to watch, but definitely getting a little tired in the fourth inning. Pretty cool."
Ole Miss had a difficult start to its season, holding a 2-4 record before picking up these last two wins over the weekend. Does this performance silence the critics?
In short, it may hold them back for a time, but tougher tests await the Rebels in the days ahead. That's when fans will really be able to drive their opinions home.
"It just doesn't really matter what people are saying," Saunier said. "We're a new team, a lot of new players. Just got to keep believing, keep fighting and keep doing our thing."
The Rebels have two midweek games this week (Little Rock and Missouri State) before playing host to the Iowa Hawkeyes over the weekend. First pitch on Tuesday against Little Rock is set for 4 p.m. CT at Swayze Field, and the game will be televised on SEC Network+.