OXFORD | Dylan DeLucia is reason No. 1 if the Rebels make a run to salvage the season.
The answer to a spotty rotation, DeLucia was dominant on Thursday, burying Mississippi State, 4-2, with a complete-game masterpiece that was fueled by a pinpoint fastball and late-game adrenaline.
DeLucia is the only Ole Miss pitcher to go six innings or more in SEC play, and he’s done it four times. In his three league starts, DeLucia has given up just three earned runs in 23 innings. The Rebels have won the junior college transfer’s three starts. He beat Kentucky and South Carolina and didn’t start against Alabama between those two games.
“It’s huge and you have to have a good performance on (opening night),” outfielder Kevin Graham said. “He’s competed for us so well these past weeks and I’m so proud of him… He owned me all fall so this is no surprise to me.”
Ole Miss (22-15, 6-10 SEC) and MSU (22-17, 6-10 SEC) continue the series at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Hunter Elliott is on the mound for the Rebels.
It’s Ole Miss’ first complete game since Doug Nikhazy did it to the Bulldogs in Starkville last season. It’s the Rebels’ first home SEC win of the season after two sweeps (to Tennessee and Alabama) and the first win in Oxford against MSU since 2015. State swept series in 2017 and 2019 at Swayze and had won 16 of the last 19 overall in the series.
Mike Bianco never spoke to DeLucia in the dugout between innings about taking him out.
“I don’t know what I would have said,” DeLucia said. “After the eighth, I said I was done, I was finishing it.”
DeLucia struck out eight without a walk and scattered five hits, giving up two solo home runs. State got the leadoff man on just once and was 1-for-10 with runners on and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. DeLucia only went to a three balls to a batter twice.
“We relied on the fastball in and out,” DeLucia said. “We mixed them up and had them tonight. We were able to mix it.”
After a one-out single and a ball to start Luke Hancock in the sixth, Bianco came out to settle things down, making the decision quickly. It worked, with a fly out and fielder’s choice ending the inning.
“He’s emotional and it works for him,” Bianco said. “He can start overthrowing a bit because he wants it so badly. We tried to get him to come set on the mound, but man the way he threw (the late innings). He pitched terrific. I don’t know why you would take him out.”
DeLucia threw 117 pitches, 78 strikes, but needed only 10 pitches in the eighth and six in the ninth to finish it.
Catcher Hayden Dunhurst jumped in DeLucia’s arms after the final out, and the team converged on him, led by senior Ben Van Cleve, who led a team-only meeting following the loss to SEMO on Tuesday.
Ole Miss got a three-run home run in the first inning from Graham to seize the lead it never gave up. After MSU second baseman RJ Yeager fumbled what would have been the third out, Graham hit a 2-2 fastball 391 feet over the right-field wall.
“We get a break and a big swing by Kevin,” Bianco said. “It got the crowd into it and with the way we’ve played of late, you need that and need that to get us going.”
After MSU cut the deficit to two with a solo home run in the fifth, Hayden Dunhurst extended the lead right back with his fourth home run of the season. Dunhurst reached base three times, adding a double and a walk.
It wasn’t certain Dunhurst would play until after batting practice. He missed time after injuring his shoulder against South Carolina.
State closed it to 4-2 in the seventh with the second solo home run but didn’t have a runner reach after that.
The Rebels had just five hits and were 2-for-10 with runners on. Justin Bench singled to start the game, and Alderman hits the top-spin chopper that Yeager couldn’t handle prior to Graham’s home run.
Dunhurst walked over to media following the game and in response to a question asking how he's doing as a greeting.
"I'm doing good. Finally."
