| Rebels Advance To SEC Championship Game With 8-7 Win Over No. 21 Vanderbilt | ||||||||||
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HOOVER, Ala. – The Rebels got three big home runs on the night, two from Michael Guerrero and one from Matt Smith, and Ole Miss (37-23) needed each of them to hold on down the stretch for an 8-7 win over No. 21 Vanderbilt (40-20) in an elimination game at the SEC Tournament on Saturday.
With the win, the Rebels advance to the SEC Tournament Championship game for the third time in the last four seasons and will play No. 9 LSU for the tournament title at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Ole Miss is the first eight seed to advance to the Championship game. With his solo shot in the seventh inning, Matt Smith broke the freshman record for home runs and currently sits at 14 home runs on the season. Michael Guerrero was 2-for-5 on the night with four RBI and both hits left the park. Jordan Henry also came up big for the Rebels as he went 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Jake Morgan (4-0) picked up the win in relief for the Rebels as he worked 3.0 innings in relief of starter Brett Bukvich, allowing three runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout. Vanderbilt starter Drew Hayes (2-1) suffered the loss as he worked 3.0 innings and allowed three runs on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts. “I’m proud of our guys and the way we competed,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “We really competed. We had some huge home runs with two by Michael Guerrero and one by Matt Smith. I thought Brett Bukvich did great tonight off of two days rest. He didn’t have his best stuff, but he competed well. Jake Morgan also continues to shine. “I think we are playing our best baseball right now,” Bianco said. “When you look at our league and the environment we play in, I think without a doubt we are doing our best.” Guerrero put the Rebels on the board in the first when he hit a three-run home run down the left field line, scoring Logan Power and Cody Overbeck to give Ole Miss a 3-0 lead. Power reached with a single up the middle before Overbeck drew a walk as a part of the two out rally. Vanderbilt answered right back with a two-out rally of its own as Ryan Flaherty hit a two-run home run to right field to score Alex Feinberg. Feinberg walked to reach base two batters earlier. The home run cut the lead to 3-2 in favor of the Rebels. The Rebels extended the lead in the fourth, pushing two runs across to take the advantage out to 5-2. Zach Miller opened the inning with an infield single before scoring on a double to left field from Tim Ferguson. Ferguson moved to third on the play as Vanderbilt went home with the throw. The freshman shortstop then scored on a double to left center from Jordan Henry to give the Rebels the three run edge. Guerrero homered for the second time in the fifth inning to push the Rebels out to a 6-2 lead. The Commodores cut back into the lead in the sixth when Andrew Giobbi singled to right field to score Stephen Liddle from second. Liddle doubled to left in the previous at bat before scoring on the Giobbi hit. Matt Smith then pushed the lead back to four with a solo home run with two outs in the seventh. Jordan Henry scored on a Logan Power groundout to second in the eighth inning, pushing the lead to 8-3 in favor of the Rebels. Henry singled before moving to third on a double to right field from Fuller Smith to get into scoring position for the groundout from Power. Vanderbilt answered in the bottom half of the frame as Giobbi came up with a two-out RBI double down the left field line off closer Scott Bittle that scored Pedro Alvarez from second and put two in scoring position. Bittle entered the game with no outs and two on base. Shea Robin then singled up the middle to push both runners home and cut the lead to 8-6 before Bittle would strike out Macias to end the inning. Alvarez then cut the lead to one run in the ninth with a solo shot to right field that put the score at 8-7. Bittle held the Commodores off the rest of the way, striking out the final two batters to preserve the Rebel win and propel Ole Miss into the championship game. |
Courtesy: Associated Press
