Ole Miss cruises to 10-1 win over Wright State to open season

OXFORD | It was methodical, mostly clean and pretty much the perfect opener for No. 10 Ole Miss Friday against Wright State.

The Rebels scored in six different innings, hit multiple home runs and Will Ethridge showed a nice reset on the mound, as Ole Miss knocked off the Horizon-favorite Raiders, 10-1, during a steady, light rain.

Game two is set for Saturday at 12 p.m.

Cooper Johnson is known for his defensive measurables, but he continued his excellent semester of offense in the opener, picking up the first three-hit game of his career and missing the cycle by a triple.

Johnson, after hitting .345 with three extra base hits in 33 intrasquad plate appearances, launched a solo home run over the center field wall in the second inning and had two runs and two RBIs on the afternoon. Johnson only had two extra base hits in 78 plate appearances last season.

The defense is the notable part of Johnson’s game and what will dictate his season, but any offense is a bonus. He’s shown some gap power since the end of last season, and he had two six-pitch at-bats on Friday to extend Wright State arms.

The blowout overlooked the moment, but with it 2-0 at the time after Wright State put the first two on in the fourth inning, Will Ethridge coaxed Zach Weatherford into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

It saved a run and personified all the talk about Ole Miss’ excellent middle infield with Grae Kessinger and Anthony Servideo. The transfer and turn by Servideo was strong and accurate, just being Weatherford to avoid the lead dwindling by half. Ole Miss added six runs over the next three innings to put it away.

In Ethridge’s first action as the staff ace, Wright State fought him for 29 pitches in the first inning. Ethridge made an error with two outs in the first that added 10 pitches to his total before he escape the frame.

But instead of letting it escalate, Ethridge followed with a 12-pitch inning and an eight-pitch inning. He got it back to 60 pitches through five innings and 68 when he left with a blister after 5.2 innings. The junior gave up four hits and two walks around five strikeouts. He maxed at 94 MPH and kept the secondary stuff sharp for most of his 82 pitches (59 strikes).

Tyler Keenan started the season’s scoring with a two-out solo home run in the first inning. He added a sacrifice fly later. Keenan’s freshman season went better than even most realize, and he’s poised for a significant sophomore campaign. Partly because…

… Thomas Dillard hits beside him, and Dillard should follow up wit his best season yet as a junior. He went 3-for-3 with a double and a walk, continuing his excellent plate awareness. Dillard led the Rebels in walk percentage among regulars in each of his first two seasons.

Austin Miller was the first reliever out of the bullpen for Ole Miss and did his job by throwing strikes. Twenty nine of his 39 pitches were strikes, and he struck out two without a walk to earn a save in 3.1 innings.

Wright State starter Bear Bellomy had my curiosity heading into Friday because of potential velocity in the mid-90s and a nod as the Horizon Preseason Pitcher of the Year. But instead of that version, Bellomy was 90-91 without a ton of movement. At least in this one game, Bellomy didn’t flash anything significant and allowed 11 base runners in 4.2 innings.

Ole Miss held Wright State to 2-for-13 with runners on base. The Rebels were 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Ethridge's blister should be fine, but Mike Bianco wasn't aware of Ryan Olenek's status after the game. A pitch hit Olenek in the hand in the late innings. Carl Gindl replaced him in the lineup.