No. 11 Ole Miss Rallies Past Georgia In 11 Innings

Friday, May 21

Athens, Ga.

7:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

29-23, 12-17

Ole Miss

38-16, 18-11

Ole Miss

Georgia

May 21, 2021 | Baseball

Box Score Game52

ATHENS, Ga.—Ole Miss scored four runs in the eighth and three more in the 11^th to rally past Georgia 8-5 Friday in front of a season-high crowd of 2,221 at Foley Field.

The Rebels (38-16, 18-11 SEC) got a two-out, run-scoring single from freshman TJ MCants to break a 5-5 tie in the 11^th and then added a pair of insurance runs to cap their latest comeback. For Georgia (29-23, 12-17 SEC), it marked the second extra-inning loss of the week.

The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the second courtesy of a two-out, run-scoring single by Randon Jernigan. Garrett Blaylock came around to score after reaching on a single and taking second on a throwing error by Peyton Chatagnier. In the third, Josh McAllister was hit by a pitch and then scored on Corey Collins' team-leading 12^th double. With one out, senior Chaney Rogers extended his hitting streak to a career-best nine games with an RBI-single for a 3-0 advantage. The Rebels answered in the top of the fourth when Jacob Gonzalez led off with his 10^th home run. With runners at first and third and one out in the fifth, Georgia lifted freshman Liam Sullivan in favor of freshman Jaden Woods. He need just four pitches to get the Bulldogs out of the jam. He struck out designated hitter Tim Elko on three pitches and got Chatagnier to pop up to shortstop to maintain a 3-1 edge. Sullivan went 5.1 innings and allowed one run on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

In the sixth, Rogers smashed a double off the right field wall. With one out, Ole Miss went to its bullpen in left-hander Jackson Kimbrell to face the left-handed hitting Blaylock. He got him to groundout. The Rebels opted to intentionally walk Jernigan to bring up the left-handed hitting Anderson. After Jernigan stole second, Anderson laced a two-run single to center to give the Bulldogs a 5-1 lead. Ole Miss starter Derek Diamond ended up allowing four runs on six hits in 5.1 innings.

With one out in the eighth, Ole Miss left fielder Kevin Graham connected for his 12^th home run, a three-run shot off Woods that made it a 5-4 game. Georgia brought in left-hander Ben Harris. Elko followed with a solo shot, his 11^th of the year, to tie the game. It was only the second home run that Harris had allowed this season. Harris dropped to 4-2, surrendering four runs on four hits with five strikeouts over 3.1 innings. Brandon Johnson pitched 2.2 scoreless innings for his first win while Taylor Broadway pitched the final frame for his 12^th save.

Georgia redshirt junior Connor Tate, the team's leading power hitter and run producer, missed Friday's game and has been ruled out for the rest of the series due to a lower leg injury. He missed two games and returned briefly Thursday, playing 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 entered the series with a 28-game on base streak and an 11-game hitting streak, both career highs. Also, graduate starting left fielder Riley King managed to play four innings on Thursday before he left the game due a sore knee and did not play Friday. King had missed the previous three games.

The series concludes Saturday. Senior Day ceremonies will begin at 1:30 p.m. with first pitch slated for 2:02 p.m. The game will be available on SEC Network+ and can be heard on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

Georgia's Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On the pitching…
"We hoped Liam [Sullivan] would give us five, maybe six and he goes five and two thirds. Jaden [Woods] came in and was throwing the ball very, very well it just got away from him a little bit. Ben [Harris] came in and threw the ball great. [Tim] Elko, what a story that guy is, after an ACL that guy can really hit. Ben kept us there, he gave us a chance we had opportunities in the ninth and the tenth to win with guys on base and just couldn't get the hits. It just didn't happen for us."