College Roundup: Rebels Stumble For First Time
Bringing in the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, the young Mississippi Rebels entered the season with a high ceiling but also a fair amount of risk. Through the season’s first two weeks, Ole Miss’ newcomers have flourished, powering the Rebels to consecutive sweeps against then-No. 6 East Carolina and UNC-Wilmington. However, the Rebels stumbled for the first time Tuesday night in an error-filled 9-6 loss to Memphis at home.
| HOW THE TOP 25 FARED |
| (1) Texas Christian: won, 13-5, vs. Rice |
| (2) Florida State: won, 6-5, at Jacksonville |
| (3) Florida: won, 4-3, vs. Central Florida |
| (4) Louisiana State: won, 3-2, vs. Nicholls State |
| (5) South Carolina: won, 8-4, vs. Appalachian State |
| (6) Louisville: off |
| (7) Cal State Fullerton: off |
| (8) Oregon State: off |
| (9) East Carolina: off |
| (10) North Carolina State: won, 8-2, at UNC-Greensboro |
| (11) Washington: off |
| (12) Virginia: won, 11-3, vs. William & Mary |
| (13) North Carolina: won, 11-0, vs. Winthrop |
| (14) Vanderbilt: won, 9-6, vs. Southeastern Louisiana |
| (15) Clemson: won, 9-2, vs. Wofford |
| (16) Louisiana-Lafayette: won, 8-6, vs. Northwestern State in 12 innings |
| (17) Georgia Tech: won, 12-5, vs. Georgia State |
| (18) Coastal Carolina: off |
| (19) Arizona: off |
| (20) Mississippi: lost, 9-6, vs. Memphis |
| (21) Texas Tech: won, 7-2, vs. New Mexico |
| (22) Stanford: won, 8-2, vs. UC Davis |
| (23) UC Santa Barbara: lost, 4-1, vs. Saint Mary’s |
| (24) Oklahoma State: off |
| (25) Texas A&M: won, 9-2, vs. Prairie View A&M |
The Rebels committed four errors, which resulted in four unearned runs. Three of those errors came in the sixth inning, which allowed three Memphis runs to score and broke open the game, 8-4. The Tigers moved to 5-2 with the win, their fourth straight after sweeping Illinois State. The Rebels fell to 7-1, finishing their homestand as they prepare to head to Houston for the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic.
The Rebels weren’t the only ranked team to stumble. UC Santa Barbara fell, 4-1, to visiting Saint Mary’s as they couldn’t solve sophomore lefthander Ty Madrigal. The twin brother of Oregon State infielder Nick, Madrigal threw seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing just two hits to lead the Gaels to their fifth win of the season.
Outside of those upsets, there were a couple of close calls. Louisiana-Lafayette and Northwestern State raged into extras before the Ragin’ Cajuns built a three-run lead in the top of 12th, highlighted by Alex Pinero’s two-run blast. Florida State had its hands full at Jacksonville, but rallied for three runs in the eighth to win, 6-5. Louisiana State trailed Nicholls State, 2-0, going into the bottom of the fifth before scoring one run in each of the next three innings to seal a 3-2 win. Florida, meanwhile, just narrowly edged Central Florida, 4-3, thanks to a seventh-inning home run by junior Mark Kolozsvary.
Elsewhere, the rest of the Top 25 mostly cruised. No. 1 Texas Christian scored 10 runs in the first two innings—two coming on a home run from Evan Skoug—to roll past Rice, 13-5. Georgia Tech and Georgia State engaged in a slugfest in Atlanta, as the teams combined for seven home runs. The Yellow Jackets won, 12-5, despite hitting one home run fewer. Junior Kel Johnson homered for the sixth time in eight games. Lastly, sticking in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia trailed William & Mary, 2-1, heading into the seventh but put up seven runs that inning and three more in the eighth to win, 11-3. Both juniors Adam Haseley and Pavin Smith homered in the Cavaliers’ eighth straight win to open the season.
Comments are closed.