Parker Caracci threw 21/3 innings of scoreless relief, and No. 6 Ole Miss defeated No. 19 Auburn 5-4 in the opening game of their SEC series before 7,851 fans at Swayze Field Thursday night.
Caracci, who threw four scoreless innings to get the win in Game 3 at South Carolina, struck out Brett Wright to end the seventh and pitched around a one-out double in the eighth with a pop-up and strikeout. He got several swing-and-miss strikes with his breaking stuff.
The Rebels (37-13, 14-11 SEC) had struggled to close tight games in April but have won their last three one-run games. Caracci has closed each one and has not allowed a run in 71/3 innings over his last three appearances. He set down the Tigers (35-15, 13-12) in order in the ninth to earn his ninth save.
“If you run out there enough in those close games sometimes it doesn’t work for you,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “Unfortunately for Parker there was a two-week span where it just didn’t work a lot for him. It’s hard to believe we’d be where we are without the way he’s pitched.”
Game 2 is today at 6:30 p.m., and the Rebels will face Auburn ace Casey Mize, widely projected as the No. 1 overall draft pick in June. He was a late scratch for Thursday to allow him his regular seven days rest.
Ole Miss sophomore Thomas Dillard, a Greenwood native, had two hits and scored twice.
With Ole Miss seemingly in control things got much tighter in the seventh when Auburn scored three runs on two hits, two walks and an error.
Rebels starter Ryan Rolison left with a 5-1 lead in the seventh and runners at second and third with one out when he was replaced by Houston Roth.
Roth entered in the middle of an at-bat and walked the bases loaded. He got a strikeout, but a run scored on a passed ball.
He went to a full count against Steven Williams, when shortstop Grae Kessinger could not field a chopper in the middle of the field. He bobbled it and threw wildly to first base. Two runs scored to make it 5-4.
On a night with little or no wind Will Golsan homered to left-center in the second just after Cole Zabowski stroked a one-out single up the middle on the first pitch from Davis Daniel.
Nick Fortes had a two-out solo shot to left field with two outs in the third to make it 3-0.
Golsan would add an RBI hit in the sixth to make it 5-1.
Rolison threw five-straight scoreless innings before giving up a leadoff home run to Steven Williams.
He rallied with three straight outs, the second a called strikeout of Edouard Julien when whom he froze on a breaking pitch.
Ole Miss took a 4-0 lead in the fourth on Tyler Keenan’s double to the right field corner.
The Rebels had nine hits on the night, none by Ryan Olenek who had a 23-game hitting streak come to an end.
“It’s nice to come out and get the first game of the series. Tomorrow’s swing day. Casey’s going to be good. We’re going to have to bear down and compete,” Golsan said.
