OXFORD, Miss. – Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan couldn’t have asked for anything better – bases loaded with freshman slugger Austin Maddox at the plate.
But another freshman – Mississippi reliever Brett Huber – had other ideas Friday night. He caught Maddox looking at strike three and the No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels hung on for a 3-2 victory over No. 2 Florida in the opening game of a three-game Southeastern Conference series before 8,417 fans at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.
The loss snapped Florida’s six-game winning streak. The two teams meet again tonight at 7 p.m. ET and will be aired on CSS. Florida (17-4 overall, 3-1 SEC East) will send freshman left-hander Brian Johnson (1-1, 4.29 ERA) to the mound to face senior right-hander Aaron Barrett (5-0, 1.69 ERA) of the Rebels (18-5, 3-1 SEC West).
With the Gators trailing 3-1 entering the ninth inning, freshman Kamm Washington led off with a pinch-hit single and Huber responded by striking out sophomore pinch-hitter Tyler Thompson. Washington stole second base and a grounder by freshman Mike Zunino advanced him to third.
Senior Matt den Dekker then walked, putting runners on the corners, and sophomore Daniel Pigott followed with a single to center to drive home Washington to narrow the Ole Miss lead to 3-2.
Sophomore Preston Tucker, who entered the game with a nine-game hitting streak, and Huber then battled, with Tucker fouling off three two-strike pitches before drawing a walk to load the bases.
That brought up Maddox, who was 2-for-5 in the game. On a 1-2 pitch, Maddox was fouled and caught looking by Huber, who earned his second save with 1.2 innings of relief of winning starting pitcher, junior left-hander Drew Pomeranz (4-0).
Pomeranz struck out nine Gators and scattered two hits and allowed just one run in 7.1 innings. Florida sophomore left-hander Alex Panteliodis went a career-high 7.1 innings and struck out a career-high eight, allowing
It was quite a pitching duel between the left-handed starters, as Pomeranz registered nine strikeouts, scattered five hits and gave up one run over 7.1 innings and Gator sophomore Alex Panteliodis (5-1) almost matched his effort. The Tampa left-hander allowed three earned runs and six hits before retiring 15 of the last 16 Ole Miss batters he faced. Panteliodis had career highs for innings pitched (7.1) and strikeouts (eight) and did not walk anyone.
The Rebels took a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a pair of two-out hits. Matt Smith drove home Alex Yarbrough (2-for-4) with an RBI double and Smith then scored on Zach Miller’s single to right.
The Gators got the bases loaded in the second but Pomeranz got Zunino to ground out to strand three runners. Florida, which would out-hit Ole Miss 7-6, would strand 11 runners.
Ole Miss made it 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning when senior Kevin Mort executed a perfect squeeze bunt to score junior Miles Hamblin.
Florida got its first run in the third inning when Maddox doubled home den Dekker with two outs to cut the Ole Miss lead to 3-1. Pomeranz would retire six Gators in a row, including five by strikeouts, before Daniel Pigott doubled with two out in the fifth.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
Conference Overall
EASTERN DIVISION W-L Pct. W-L Pct.
South Carolina 4-0 1.000 18-4 .818
Florida 3-1 .750 17-4 .810
Vanderbilt 2-2 .500 19-4 .826
Kentucky 1-3 .250 16-6 .727
Tennessee 0-4 .000 11-11.500
Georgia 0-4 .000 8-14 .364
WESTERN DIVISION W-L Pct. W-L Pct.
Louisiana State 3-1 .750 18-3 .857
Mississippi 3-1 .750 18-5 .783
Auburn 3-1 .750 16-6 .727
Alabama 2-2 .500 16-4 .800
Arkansas 2-2 .500 16-5 .762
Mississippi State 1-3 .250 13-9 .591
SCHEDULE
All times are Eastern
FRIDAY / March 26
Mississippi 3, Florida 2
Louisiana State 6, Tennessee 2
Vanderbilt 7, Kentucky 0
South Carolina 11, Auburn 5
Arkansas 9, Alabama 8
Mississippi State 9, Georgia 8
SATURDAY / March 27
South Carolina (Jr. RHP Sam Dyson / 1-0, 5.40 ERA) at Auburn (Jr. LHP Cole Nelson / 4-0, 3.67 ERA), 1 p.m. (CSS)
Louisiana State (So. LHP Chris Matulis / 3-0, 1.47 ERA) at Tennessee (Sr. RHP Stephen McCray / 2-2, 0.89 ERA), 3 p.m. (FSN)
Alabama (Jr. RHP Jimmy Nelson / 4-0, 1.26 ERA) at Arkansas (So. LHP Drew Smyly / 2-0, 1.73 ERA), 3 p.m.
Georgia (Jr. RHP Justin Grimm / 1-2, 5.16 ERA) at Mississippi State (Fr. RHP Chris Stratton / 2-2, 2.63 ERA), 3 p.m.
Kentucky (Fr. LHP Taylor Rogers / 3-1, 4.75 ERA) at Vanderbilt (Jr. RHP Taylor Hill / 3-1, 2.90 ERA), 3 p.m.
Florida (Fr. LHP Brian Johnson / 1-1, 4.29 ERA) at Mississippi (Sr. RHP Aaron Barrett / 5-0, 1.69 ERA), 7 p.m. (CSS)
SUNDAY / March 28
Florida (Fr. RHP Hudson Randall / 2-0, 3.80 ERA) at Mississippi (TBA), 2 p.m. (CSS)
Louisiana State (Jr. RHP Anthony Ranaudo / 0-0, 0.00 ERA) at Tennessee (So. LHP Steven Gruver / 1-0, 3.00 ERA), 2 p.m.
Alabama (Fr. LHP Taylor Wolfe / 2-0, 3.00 ERA) at Arkansas (Jr. RHP Brett Eibner / 2-2, 2.18 ERA), 2 p.m. (CST)
South Carolina (Fr. LHP Tyler Webb / 1-1, 2.53 ERA) at Auburn (TBA), 2 p.m.
Kentucky (So. RHP Alex Meyer / 4-2, 6.51 ERA) at Vanderbilt (So. RHP Jack Armstrong / 3-0, 3.16 ERA), 2 p.m.
Georgia (So. RHP Michael Palazzone / 3-2, 9.15 ERA) at Mississippi State (TBA), 2:30 p.m.
TUESDAY / March 30
Kentucky at Cincinnati, 6:30 p.m.
Florida vs. Florida State at Jacksonville (Baseball Grounds), 7 p.m. (SUN)
The Citadel at South Carolina, 7 p.m.
Tennessee Tech at Tennessee, 7 p.m.
Wofford at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m.
Mississippi State vs. Mississippi State at Pearl, Miss. (Trustmark Park), 7:30 p.m.
Jacksonville State at Alabama, 7:35 p.m.
Centenary at Arkansas, 7:35 p.m.
WEDNESDAY / March 31
Centenary at Arkansas, 4:05 p.m.
Western Kentucky at Kentucky, 6:30 p.m.
Auburn at Troy, 7 p.m.
Presbyterian College at Tennessee, 7 p.m.
Wofford at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m.
Alabama vs. UAB at Hoover, Ala. (Regions Park), 7:30 p.m.
Binghamton at Louisiana State, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY / April 2
Vanderbilt at Florida, 6:30 p.m.
Auburn at Alabama, 7 p.m. (CSS)
Mississippi State at South Carolina, 7 p.m.
Tennessee at Mississippi, 7:30 p.m.
Kentucky at Arkansas, 7:35 p.m.
Georgia at Louisiana State, 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
SATURDAY / April 3
Kentucky at Arkansas, 3:05 p.m.
Vanderbilt at Florida, 4 p.m. (SUN)
Mississippi State at South Carolina, 4 p.m. (CSS)
Auburn at Alabama, 5 p.m.
Georgia at Louisiana State, 5 p.m. (FSN)
Tennessee at Mississippi, 5 p.m.
SUNDAY / April 4
Vanderbilt at Florida, 1 p.m. (SUN)
Georgia at Louisiana State, 1 p.m. (CSS)
Tennessee at Mississippi, 2 p.m.
Mississippi State at South Carolina, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
Kentucky at Arkansas, 2:05 p.m.
Auburn at Alabama, 3 p.m.