Ole Miss baseball's first SEC series win over Georgia was only ever going to come one way

OXFORD — The ease with which Ole Miss baseball cruised through six innings against Georgia on Sunday should have been cause for suspicion in this 2023 season when nothing has come easy for the Rebels.

It was, indeed, too good to be true. Ole Miss was only ever going to achieve its first SEC series victory in seven attempts by way of sheer chaos. TJ McCants' walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth sealed an 8-7 Rebels win ‒ Ole Miss' first in four SEC rubber games ‒ and concluded a late-inning roller coaster that alternated between suffering and elation.

After splitting the first two games, with both teams taking home 7-3 wins, Ole Miss freshman starter Grayson Saunier twirled six sparkling innings with the help of some outstanding defense behind him. Home runs from Ethan Lege, Jacob Gonzalez and Peyton Chatagnier positioned the Rebels with a 5-2 lead before the eighth inning arrived, and the requisite chaos ensued.

Four straight Bulldogs reached base against Rebels reliever Jack Dougherty to start the frame, and the visitors rode that merry-go-round out to tie the game 5-5.

No matter, Ole Miss (23-21, 5-16 SEC) simply re-took the lead in its half of the eighth. Lege drove in his third run of the afternoon with a two-out single, and Kemp Alderman blooped another run-scoring hit into right field to provide some insurance. Georgia second baseman Mason LaPlante denied the Rebels a third run when he dove to snag a hot shot off the bat of Calvin Harris, but surely that wouldn't matter, right?

Wrong. Centerfielder Ben Anderson connected for a two-run homer against Dougherty that tied the game at seven and marked the second Sunday in a row that the Rebels had blown a ninth-inning lead.

Anderson wasn't done tormenting Ole Miss. Ethan Groff led off the home ninth with a drive to center field that Anderson lept over the wall to snag, only adding to the pandemonium that continued until McCants' final swing.

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With one out and Judd Utermark on second base, McCants ‒ with four hits in his last 16 games ‒ drove a single to left field. Utermark looked dead to rights when the throw reached Bulldogs catcher Fernando Gonzalez, but his slide dislodged the ball, and the Rebels poured out of the dugout in celebration.

"I haven't really gotten too many to fall for me," McCants said. "So, I really appreciated to get one in that situation."

The breathlessness of the final three innings shouldn't overshadow what Saunier did in the first six. Returning to the SEC rotation after he struggled in a Saturday role at the beginning of the conference slate, Saunier allowed only two hits while striking out six Bulldogs (24-20, 8-13) in his best outing at the collegiate level. Most notably for a freshman who had struggled with his control, Saunier did not issue a free pass on Sunday.

"He's been good with the slider and some of the offspeed pitches, but best fastball day command-wise," Bianco said. "He was able to locate...He was terrific."

The Rebels are likely past the point where a result like this has implications for a bid to an NCAA regional, but it certainly has consequences in the race for an SEC Tournament spot.

Trailing Mississippi State — which owns the head-to-head tiebreaker — by three games entering play this week, Ole Miss now only sits one game back of its in-state rival for 12th place in the conference and the final qualification spot.

The Rebels have a manageable schedule down the stretch, too. All three of Ole Miss' remaining opponents — Missouri, Auburn and Alabama — have losing records in conference play, with a trip to Mizzou next on the docket.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Grayson Saunier, Ethan Lege lead Ole Miss baseball's series win vs Georgia