Dylan DeLucia continues to be Ole Miss' lynchpin to success in Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. — When walking out of the postgame press conference after Ole Miss’ 5-1 win over Auburn, Dylan DeLucia looked at Mike Bianco and said “have fun” followed by a fist bump. Morale is high in the Ole Miss locker room and DeLucia is a big reason why.
Since cementing himself as the Friday starter at South Carolina, DeLucia has become the lynchpin to not just the pitching staff’s success but the entire team’s.
DeLucia showed that once again on Saturday with yet another masterful performance. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and gave Auburn fits all night and provided enough support on the mound until the offense broke the game slightly open.
There was a peacefulness and aggressiveness to DeLucia all night, starting from his opening pitch in the first inning. That was due to the Rebels scoring two runs in the top of the first inning.
“It helped a lot, really,” DeLucia said of the early run support. “It just calmed me down and allowed me to pitch again.”
Since getting into the postseason opposing offenses have struggle to put up runs against Rebel arms. Saturday night was no different before Auburn got its lone run in the 7th inning, snapping a 27-inning streak of scoreless innings by the Ole Miss pitching staff.
Even when DeLucia finally got into trouble in the seventh there was a calmness to him, but also did not waiver in his confidence.
Head coach Mike Bianco came out to talk with DeLucia while Josh Mallitz started warming up in the bullpen. The conversation ended with Bianco walking back to the dugout and DeLucia staying in the game.
DeLucia then went on to get three straight outs and stranded two runners.
“No, I wanted to stay in the game,” DeLucia said. “But (Bianco) had complete confidence in me. He said, ‘Listen, just throw strikes and get out of this without giving up a run,’ and that was the plan.”
The plan was a success and DeLucia went on to start the eighth inning and nearly got through it before an error by Jacob Gonzalez ended his outing.
Ole Miss is now heading to the winner’s bracket and a date with Arkansas on Monday night. The bullpen is relatively intact with Mallitz being the only bullet used in the chamber.
Having used few arms and keeping a rested bullpen has been the M.O. of Ole Miss all postseason. That is a credit to DeLucia starting weekends off in a dominant fashion.
