This past weekend, Oxford was bustling with Double Decker and Ole Miss baseball both in full swing. To close out the month of April, the Georgia Bulldogs made their way from the Classic City to Swayze Field to face Ole Miss in a three-game series.
The Rebels won the series two games to one to claim their first series win in conference play.
Here are three takeaways from the series.
Grayson Saunier had a career outing
Grayson Saunier is a freshman right-handed pitcher from Memphis, Tenn. who has earned a pivotal role in Ole Miss’ starting rotation.
The freshman pitcher threw six innings for Ole Miss during the series against Georgia, while allowing one earned run, six strikeouts and no walks.
This was the longest outing of his career so far, and he broke many of his own records. Previously, Saunier pitched no more than five innings per start and had issued anywhere between one to four walks. On Sunday, Saunier toed the rubber and pitched six competitive innings, giving Ole Miss their chance to win the series.
Kemp Alderman leads the offensive charge
In 2023, Alderman became a reliable source of production in the Ole Miss lineup. Alderman has had a breakout year as a Rebel, with his season high of three hits being against the Bulldogs on Saturday.
This weekend has been no fluke, as he possesses the seventh-highest batting average in the SEC at .374. He also surpassed his previous season’s hit total in 14 fewer games this year already.
Alderman batted .538 total this weekend against Georgia and hit his 18th home run of the season on Saturday to put Ole Miss on the board against Georgia.
Sunday is definitely fun-day
The sun came back out on Sunday after a gloomy two days in Oxford, and the Rebels came out swinging for their third and final game against the Bulldogs.
Sunday’s game was back-and-forth but ultimately remained close for the majority of the day.
During the bottom of the ninth inning, junior outfielder TJ McCants hit a walk-off single to close the game, clinching the series win against Georgia and the Rebels’ first SEC series win of the season.
Things are looking up for the Rebels as the regular season comes to a close and the SEC tournament approaches at the end of May.
Ole Miss will play Little Rock at home on Tuesday, May 2 at 11 a.m. CDT on SEC Network+.
