OXFORD | It was an inauspicious start when Torin Montgomery drove in a run during the first inning on Saturday.
Hunter Elliott’s first few minutes included a double and a walk before the RBI single. He had behind two of the three batters, and the two runners on base threatened to give Mizzou some additional early momentum.
But, instead, that was the best it would get for the Tigers.
Elliott struck out two straight to strand the runners, as part of a stretch of six straight and 11 of 12 retired. In all, the freshman, who wears Doug Nikhazy’s old number and resembles the former Ole Miss ace, lasted seven innings and silenced Mizzou to lift the Rebels to an 8-1 series-clinching victory.
“One in the first is a lot less than two or three for sure,” Elliott said. “Good to get off the field and give our guys a shot to get going. Just attack the zone and go at them. Get in plus counts so they don’t know what’s coming.”
Ole Miss (26-19, 9-14) goes for the sweep at 1:30 on Sunday. The Rebels are tied with South Carolina in the SEC standings and are a half-game ahead of Kentucky. Missouri (25-19, 7-16) is two back of the Rebels and 1.5 behind the Wildcats. UK took two of three from No. 1 Tennessee.
Ole Miss has the tiebreaker over Kentucky. Carolina has the tiebreaker over Ole Miss, as do Alabama and Mississippi State, two teams also in the mix for those final spots in Hoover. Florida and Ole Miss don’t play this season.
Missouri is now 0-11 on the road in the SEC. It’s the first time this SEC season Ole Miss has won the middle game of a series.
Elliott said he struggled with fastball command early and didn’t have his best mix of pitches. He relied on his changeup and then settled into a groove during the middle part of his start.
“Anyone can pitch with the best stuff, but it’s special when someone can survive and gets outs without it,” Mike Bianco said about Elliott. “The key is to hang around long enough to find it. Some guys are just done when they don’t have it, but he’s a fighter. It’s what makes him special.”
Elliott scattered four hits — just two after the first inning — and struck out nine with one walk. The left-hander threw 68 of 103 pitches for strikes. Seven of the nine strikeouts were swinging, and he struck out the side in the fourth inning. The leadoff batter reached twice against Elliott but never got to third base.
Elliott has gone at least six innings for the second straight start, and he’s allowed five earned runs in 21.1 innings as a starter in SEC games, a 2.11 ERA.
Five different Rebels had two hits, and Justin Bench, Tim Elko and Hayden Leatherwood all doubled. Kemp Alderman was 2-for-3 and is now 6-for-7 on the weekend. Two of his batted balls had 113 MPH exit velocities.
Ole Miss was 7-for-20 with runners on and 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Missouri was 1-for-10 with runners on and is now 2-for-16 this weekend with runners in scoring position.
The Rebels scored two in the fourth, two in the fifth and three in the seventh to pull away.
