OXFORD, Miss. – Designated hitter Tim Elko's grand slam helped lift No. 12 and top-seeded Ole Miss (42-19) to a 6-3 win over fourth-seeded Southeast Missouri (30-21) Friday night in the NCAA Regional at Swayze Field.
With the loss, SEMO will face second-seeded Southern Miss in an elimination game at 11 a.m., CT Saturday.
The Rebels got to Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year and Second-Team All-American
Dylan Dodd in the bottom of the third inning.
Cael Baker and John Rhys Plumlee each singled. With one out, Jacob Gonzalez walked to load the bases. Following a mound visit, Elko hit the first pitch of his at-bat over the right field wall to give the Rebels a 4-0 advantage.
SEMO cut Ole Miss' lead in half in the top of the fifth inning.
Connor Basler ripped his second hit of the game for a double off the left field wall and later scored on a two-out error.
Tyler Wilber, who reached on the Baker's mishap, came around to score with the help of back-to-back singles by
Danny Wright and
Andrew Keck making it a 4-2 ballgame.
The Rebels answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth and added another in the sixth.
Kevin Graham doubled and touched home on a two-out single by TJ McCants in the fifth inning before Baker singled to left, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a base hit by Peyton Chatagnier in the sixth giving Ole Miss a 6-2 lead.
SEMO managed to get its final run of the game when
Lincoln Andrews knocked in Keck on a one-out double to left center. After Andrews' hit, Taylor Broadway entered the game and struck out both
Wade Stauss and
Danny Sperling to keep the score at 6-3.
Jack Dougherty (2-2) picked up the win in relief. Dougherty struck out five and allowed two runs on four hits in three innings. Broadway recorded three strikeouts in 1.2 scoreless innings en route to his 14th save.
Dodd (9-2), who had won in six-straight starts, fell to only his second loss of the season and first since Mar. 12 (at SIU Edwardsville). He struck out seven, walked three and gave up six runs on 10 hits in six innings.
SEMO finished with six hits, including two each by Keck and Basler. Both Keck and Basler also scored a run. In addition, Basler had a stolen base and tied Denver Stuckey (2000-03) for the program's all-time career record in stolen bases. Both have 52 stolen bases at the top of that list.
