An insurance run is nice, but what the Ole Miss bats provided in the eighth inning was comprehensive coverage.
A Swayze Field crowd of 8,655 watched Will Ethridge throw 6 2/3 innings of one-run relief, and the No. 6-ranked Rebels used a six-run eighth to bury No. 19 Auburn 10-3 Saturday.
Ole Miss took a 4-3 lead in the seventh on a solo home run by Tyler Keenan. The Rebels then had six runs on six hits in the eighth with RBI doubles by Chase Cockrell, pinch-hitter Michael Fitzsimmons and Nick Fortes.
It’s the first sweep of the season for Ole Miss (39-13, 16-11 SEC) and strengthens the Rebels in the hunt to host an NCAA regional and super regional.
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco didn’t use those terms specifically but noted the significance of winning three against Auburn (35-17, 13-14 SEC).
“You have to show up today if you want to have a chance to win the West and keep a lot of the goals we have in place. You have to show up, and we did.”
The most important arrival was Ethridge who replaced James McArthur with the Rebels trailing 2-0 and the bases loaded in the second inning. He struck out Brett Wright and Edouard Julien, Auburn’s Nos. 3 and 4 hitters, to strand the runners.
Ethridge matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts, and the relief appearance was the longest of his career.
“Ethridge came in and just shoved them, and our offense stayed with it,” Keenan said. “We grinded through at-bats.”
First baseman Cole Zabowski was the only Ole Miss starter without a hit. Freshman Anthony Servideo, getting a rare start at second base, had two hits including a run-scoring single in the second. Auburn starting pitcher Tanner Burns, like McArthur, did not see the third inning, and Tigers reliever Cody Greenhill allowed just one run.
over 4 2/3 innings. He exited in the seventh after allowing Servideo’s second hit then hitting Grae Kessinger with a pitch.
Ethridge had a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts and a ground out. Parker Caracci pitched a scoreless ninth.
“They’re a tough offense, but my slider was really working today,” Ethridge said. “I was hitting my spots and getting some bad swings from those guys. Everything worked out well.”
