Ole Miss eliminates Georgia in walk-off win
HOOVER, Ala. -- Tim Rowe's base hit found a hole up the middle, sending Thomas Dillard around to score the game-winning run, capping a two-run rally in the 10th inning to propel No. 2 seed Ole Miss baseball past No. 3 seed Georgia, 5-4, Thursday afternoon in the third round of the SEC Tournament.
Brady Feigl turned in a terrific start for the Rebels, allowing just one run on three hits and one walk through 6.2 innings. Parker Caracci struck out seven in 3.1 innings and was brilliant in relief, save for one throwing error that ultimately extended the game--but the Rebel offense came through in the end, stringing together three base hits in the 10th inning to secure the team's 18th come-from-behind victory this season.
Ole Miss struck first on a leadoff home run by Grae Kessinger to take an early 1-0 lead. Feigl allowed just one baserunner in his first four innings, striking out three in that span, including two in the fourth.
The Rebel offense added another run in the fourth after a leadoff double by Will Golsan. Rowe moved him to third on a groundout, setting the stage for an RBI single to center field by Chase Cockrell to make it a 2-0 game.
LJ Talley doubled with two outs in the fifth to give Georgia its first runner in scoring position on the day, but a soft comebacker allowed Feigl to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard.
Ole Miss threatened in the bottom half of the fifth after a leadoff single by Nick Fortes. The Rebel catcher attempted to wheel around from first on a Golsan double to left but was pegged on a play at the plate.
Georgia manufactured a run in the seventh after a leadoff double by Keegan McGovern and a sacrifice fly by Adam Sasser. Feigl was a strike away from the third out in the seventh, but the tarp was brought out on a 1-2 count with two down in the seventh, the beginning of a 1-hour, 54-minute rain delay. Caracci relieved Feigl when play resumed after the lengthy break and took two pitches to fan the final batter of the inning.
Kessinger led the bottom half off with a double into the right field corner and, after a Ryan Olenek sacrifice bunt, came home to score when Dillard reached on a fielder's choice, giving the Rebels a 3-1 advantage.
Georgia opened the eighth with a double and pushed runners to second and third with two outs. Caracci struck out the following two batters and appeared to have escaped the jam after a comebacker, but his throw in attempt to get the third out at home sailed over Fortes' head, allowing both runners to come home and tie the game at three. Caracci fanned the following batter on three pitches to end the inning. The Rebel closer struck out two more in the ninth.
In extra innings, Talley smacked the go-ahead home run to give Georgia the 4-3 advantage, but Caracci again bounced back, retiring the next three batters and ending the inning with strikeout No. 7.
With the Rebels fighting for their SEC Tournament lives, Fortes led off the 10th with a base hit to left and scored on a clutch double to the right field corner by Dillard, knotting the game once again at four. Rowe stepped to the plate with two outs and the game tied, and on a 1-0 count, the senior out of Hernando, Mississippi, sent a base hit past a diving Georgia second baseman, allowing Dillard to step on home for the walk-off win.
Ole Miss awaits the losing team in tonight's contest between Auburn and Texas A&M and will play at 3 p.m. CT on Friday.