Rebels rally for weekend victory
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 2:46 PM CDT
Special to the Tribune
Junior right-hander Scott Bittle picked up his fifth win in relief on Sunday as the reliever held the Tiger offense in check over the final 4.0 innings as Ole Miss (33-20. 14-13 SEC) rallied for a 5-2 win over Auburn (27-25, 11-16 SEC) and claimed the series.
Bittle (5-1) struck out seven and walked one as he held the Tigers to only two hits and kept them off the board in his 4.0 innings on the mound. The seven strikeouts moved the reliever to 99 for the season.
Luke Greinke (4-4) suffered the loss for the Tigers as he allowed five runs on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
Zach Miller was 2-for-3 to lead the Rebel offense, while Matt Smith came up with a solo home run in the fifth inning to get the Rebel offense started.
“Scott has come in and faced almost every situation,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “He thinks he can throw 75 to 100 pitches if he needs to. Once we sensed the game was on the line, we decided to bring him in. We just hoped we wouldn’t have to bring him in too early so that he could finish. That’s why he’s so special and the best closer in the country.”
Auburn got off to an early start as Joseph Sanders hit a two-run home run in the top of the first to put the Tigers on the board. The two-out hit scored Trent Mummey who had walked to open the game.
Ole Miss answered in the fifth as Matt Smith opened the inning with a solo shot to right center to get the Rebels on the board and cut the lead to 2-1.
The Rebels tied things in the sixth when Jordan Henry scored on a single down the left field line from Logan Power. Henry singled to open the inning before moving to second on a wild pitch. He then advanced to third on a sac bunt from Fuller Smith before scoring on the Power hit.
Ole Miss took the lead in the seventh when Brett Basham came up with a bases loaded sac fly to center field, scoring a pinch running Michael Hubbard from third. Michael Guerrero was hit by a pitch to open the inning before being run for by Hubbard. Miller then singled before a pinch-hitting Tim Ferguson laid down a sac bunt that saw all runners advance safely as the throw to third was late. Auburn then went to the bullpen for Evan Crawford.
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