No. 11 Ole Miss Posts 2-0 Win

Thursday, May 20

Athens, Ga.

7 :00 p.m.

University of Georgia

29-22, 12-16

Ole Miss

37-16, 17-11

Ole Miss

Georgia

May 20, 2021 | Baseball

Box Score Game51

ATHENS, Ga.— Left-hander Doug Nikhazy provided seven shutout innings with 13 strikeouts to lead No. 11 Ole Miss to a 2-0 win over Georgia Thursday in front of a crowd of 1,577 at Foley Field.

After Nikhazy, the Rebels (37-16, 17-11 SEC) turned to closer Taylor Broadway who took care of the final two frames for his 11th save. Nikhazy improved to 8-2. Georgia freshman left-hander Luke Wagner started and retired the first five Rebels. However, he had to leave the game when Justin Bench lined a shot off his leg. Wagner recovered to field the baseball and threw him out. Sophomore right-hander Michael Polk replaced him and provided a career-long 4.1 innings. Polk allowed two runs on three hits with a walk and career-high five strikeouts but took the loss to fall to 2-1.

Georgia (29-22, 12-16 SEC) put runners at the corners with one out in the third after base hits from Josh McAllister and Cole Tate. However, Nikhazy came back to retire the next two Bulldogs to keep it a scoreless contest. Ole Miss took a 1-0 lead in the fourth thanks to a two-out, RBI-single by Bench, scoring TJ McCants who had singled and stole second. A sacrifice fly by Kevin Graham gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead in the sixth.

The Rebels threatened in the seventh with a pair of men in scoring position. Georgia looked to Collin Caldwell who struck out McCants. In the seventh, Ole Miss loaded the bases on three straight hits. Then, Chaney Rogers caught a ball over the shoulder in foul territory down the first base line, spun around and fired home to Gonzales who caught Peyton Chantagnier in a pickle and eventually tagged him out at third for a unique double play. Caldwell struck out Hayden Dunhurst as the Bulldogs escaped the frame unscathed. In the bottom of the inning, freshman Corey Collins had a pinch-hit double off Broadway. However, he came back to retire Gonzalez who lined out to deep left.

Georgia redshirt junior Connor Tate, the team's leading power hitter and run producer, returned to the lineup after missing the past two games, but played just two innings. He was hit in the ankle by a pitch in last Saturday's contest at Florida. Tate had started every game this season. He had reached base safely in 28 straight games and had an 11-game hitting streak, both career highs, that ended after going 0-for-1. Also, graduate starting left fielder Riley King returned after he missed the past three games with a sore knee. He played just the first four innings, and he was replaced by freshman Garrett Spikes.

Game two of the series will be Friday with first pitch slated for 7:02 p.m. The entire series will be available on SEC Network+ and can be heard on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

POSTGAME VIDEOS

Coach Stricklin

Georgia's Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On Ole Miss' Doug Nikhazy…
"We knew coming in that he was going to be a challenge. That guy is going to pitch in the big leagues. He is ultra-competitive, has really good stuff, and it tells you how good he is because in those last couple innings his velocity dropped but the ball has so much life on it, it jumps on the hitters. He has two different breaking balls he can throw; he threw a change-up a little bit to righty's tonight. He is just really good."

On how the team can move on from this loss…
"I think we are in good shape pitching-wise moving forward. Next man up offensively, Connor (Tate) and Riley (King) felt like they were ready to play but they obviously had setbacks. But we feel confident in the arms that we have going. We have Liam Sullivan going tomorrow and then (Jaden) Woods and (Ben) Harris behind him. It'll be most likely (Jonathan) Cannon on Saturday and Woods and Harris possibly behind him again. We feel good where we are pitching wise we just have to make sure we go out there and score some runs tomorrow for Liam and get some momentum and get a win going into Game Three."

Michael Polk, RHP, So.
On going in during the second inning...
"It was hectic at first, because I came out and didn't get to warm up a whole lot in the bullpen. I was trying to do a little bit in there, but the umpire said I had to go out so I went out there and started throwing."

On his career high for innings pitched and strikeouts...
"I was glad to do anything for the team. Coach [Stricklin] told me I was going in, so I had to get my mind right."

Fernando Gonzalez, C, Fr.
On facing Doug Nikhazy...
"I think he's a pretty good pitcher. I thought we had the chance to score a few times, but it didn't go our way."

On how they won't let tonight's loss affect them in the next two games of the series...
"You flip the page. Baseball is a game you play every day, sometimes you do great and sometimes you do bad. You've got to flip the page to the next day and win."