OXFORD, Miss. – Kevin Graham's walk-off two-run home run lifted No. 4 Ole Miss over ULM, 6-5, Saturday afternoon at Oxford-University Stadium and Swayze Field.
The long ball negated a gritty effort by ULM (5-6 overall) to rally from an early 3-0 deficit to take an eighth-inning lead.
Ole Miss (13-2) took the initial lead in the second inning as Kevin Leatherwood hit a ground ball to the right side, scoring Kevin Graham for the 1-0 advantage.
The Rebels added to the lead in the third as Graham picked up his first two RBIs of the day with a base hit to centerfield, bringing home Tyler Elko and Peyton Chatagnier for the 3-0 lead.
ULM started its rally in the fourth.
Mason Holt hit a one-out triple to right center and
Ryan Humeniuk followed with an RBI single to center to cut the gap to 3-1.
Holt and Humeniuk were at it again in the sixth inning. With two outs, Holt reached safely on a throwing error and moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Humeniuk followed with another RBI single to center to plate Holt to get within 3-2.
Ole Miss added a run in the bottom of the seventh inning as Connor Harris hit a high chopper to third, allowing Elko to score on the ground out, pushing the lead back to two at 4-2.
ULM made its move in the eighth inning.
Ryan Cupit opened the inning with a walk and
Wiley Cleland followed with a single to center.
Andrew Beesley bunted Cupit and Beesley up to second and third. After
Travis Washburn lined out, Holt hit a chopper to third and beat the throw to first by a step to bring home Cupit to cut the gap to one, 4-3. Humeniuk followed with his third RBI single of the day, this time scoring pinch runner
Carson Jones, to knot the game at 4. With runners on the corners and two outs, Humeniuk and Holt executed the delayed double steal, as Humeniuk got into a rundown between first and second, allowing Holt to score ahead of the throw home to take a 5-4 lead.
After
Reid Goleman (0-1) threw a perfect bottom of the eighth inning, he retired the first man he faced in the ninth. However, he hit Elko with a pitch, setting up Graham for the final dramatics.
Trey Lindsay and
Carson Orton had strong efforts out of the bullpen for ULM. Starter
Ty Barnes pitched into the fourth inning, allowing three runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Lindsay entered with two runners on and no outs in the fourth inning but did not allow the inherited runners to score. He threw 2 2/3 innings, giving up no runs on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Orton entered with runners on second and third and two outs in the sixth inning, but retired Hayden Dunhurst to get out of the jam. He threw 1 1/3 innings, giving up a run on two hits with two strikeouts.
Humeniuk's three hits and three RBIs led ULM, while Holt had two hits, an RBI and a three runs scored.
Ole Miss starter Drew McDaniel took a no-decision after firing 5 2/3 innings with two runs, one earned, on four hits with no walks and five strikeouts. Taylor Broadway (3-0) earned the win out of the bullpen, throwing two innings, giving up three runs on four hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
Graham was 4-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored for the Rebels. Elko had two hits and scored three times.
ULM tries to salvage the final game of the series at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Links to live video, audio and stats are available on the baseball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.
