Around the (Ole Miss) Diamond: Fischer homers thrice, bullpen stays dominant, Quinn to return
Duke slugging third baseman Andrew Fischer was a headliner in Ole Miss baseball’s Top 10 transfer class in the off-season.
He was signed for games like Saturday against No. 20 South Carolina. But even the rosiest of Rebel fan/coach/follower couldn’t have foreseen a stand-alone, three-home-run effort and five RBI in a 12-3 Ole Miss win. The Rebels rallied for a 5-4 win Friday night.
Ethan Groff and Ethan Lege both homered, too, to back a dominant start from Coastal Carolina transfer left-hander Liam Doyle. Doyle, Fischer’s Ole Miss teammate, struck out 10 in 5.1 innings. The ascending Rebels took their first SEC series of the year and 13th win in their last 14 games. Fischer and Groff went back-to-back in the bottom of the fifth.
Ole Miss has won nine in a row to improve to 15-5 (2-0 SEC) overall on the season. The Rebels go for a sweep Sunday at 1:30 p.m. CT.
“He’s always impressive,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said of Fischer after the game. Bianco is in his 24th season leading the Rebels. “He’s a special talent and brings so much energy. A lot of power, and a guy that can really get some good swings off.
“If you’re going to try to bat a right-handed lineup, he’s one of the left-handers that get to stay in.”
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Ole Miss loaded up its lineup with right-handed hitters to oppose South Carolina starter Dylan Eskew.
Eskew, analytically, has reverse splits as a right-hander, and the strategy pulled off. Ole Miss chased him after 4.1 innings, tagging him for four runs on six hits with a walk. The Rebels had 13 total hits for the game.
The Ole Miss bullpen, meanwhile, continued its early-season run of dominance. Three relievers, led by veteran Josh Mallitz, held South Carolina scoreless after the fifth inning. Mallitz is in his return season from Tommy John surgery. He gave up a hit and a walk but no runs in his 1.2 innings and struck out two.
“It’s been really impressive, all the guys,” Mallitz said of the bullpen. “I think it gets overshadowed with Doyle tonight. I know he didn’t have all zeroes up there, but he shoved and gave it over to the bullpen. That gives us so much confidence.
“Scratching two wins, especially the first two SEC wins, is huge for us.”
Sunday should mark the return of second-year right-hander JT Quinn.
Grayson Saunier will start, as usual. Saunier, also a sophomore, has been rock-solid out of the gates for the Rebels this season. He’s gone at least 5.0 innings in back-to-back starts.
Quinn opened the season as Ole Miss’ Friday night starter. However, he’s been sidelined because of a blister issue on his pitching hand.
“I’d be shocked if he wasn’t in the game at some point tomorrow in some capacity,” Bianco said of Quinn. “He’s feeling good, and he’s (warmed up in games) a couple of times. We just haven’t gotten him in. We took him down (Saturday) sometime in the fourth. But I’m certain you’re probably going to see him tomorrow.”
