Rebels dominate Eastern Illinois in doubleheader sweep

OXFORD | Postseason resumes are mostly built by the bulk of conference games and occasional high-profile inter-league series, but they can be nitpicked and lose their sharp edges because of the other contests.

RPI bombs and lesser-known opponents often take advantage of postseason-worthy teams because of lack of focus and execution. Lots of examples have happened in the Southeastern Conference this week with Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi State and LSU all losing games to teams without reasonable regional play expectations. Other SEC programs fell in similar fashion in the first two weeks.

Sure, baseball happens, and Ole Miss will lose in an instance such as those at some point, as well, but so far the Rebels have perfectly executed the first four games of a seven-game stretch before conference play. Long Beach State has an excellent long program pedigree, and Ole Miss took two of three while visiting Southern California, and Tennessee starts league play in a week. The in between in a pivotal time in the schedule.

“I’m proud of the way we’ve played because it hasn’t been easy off the road trip,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “Our guys have answered the bell and played pretty well.”

The week back in Oxford with bad weather and directional schools wouldn’t epitomize the most instinctual concentration situation, but with the doubleheader sweep of Eastern Illinois (7-2, 4-0), the Rebels are showing a maturity that wasn’t present lsat season. It’s also the mentality of a team capable of throwing up a non conference resume that would sway committee members for a host spot or top eight seed should the SEC portion work out well for the Rebels.

The series finale is Sunday at 1:30, and Ole Miss visits Georgia State, which swept Eastern Illinois (5-7) last weekend, Tuesday and Wednesday. The Rebels are 14-1 and have mostly done it with consistency and not beating themselves.

Ole Miss hasn’t committed an error in six straight games and continues to make routine plays to avoid letting opponents gain momentum. The one exception since opening weekend was the loss to Long Beach, but the Rebels started this current streak the next time out.

“The defense is helping a ton,” said Brady Feigl who threw seven shutout innings in the nightcap. “They make the play every time it comes to them, and it helps keep the pitch count down.”

Feigl has gone at least six innings in three straight starts and lowered his ERA to 0.81. With seven strikeouts and no walks against the Panthers he now has 25 strikeouts and two walks on the season.

Sixty seven of Feigl’s 97 pitches were strikes and he worked around multiple men on base in the second and fifth innings.

Ryan Rolison also went seven innings in the opening game of the day and gave up six hits with three walks.

The Rebels had 14 hits combined in the two games, and Jacob Adams in game one was the only player with multiple hits in either game. He hit his first career home run, and Thomas Dillard added his fourth home run of the season.

Austin Miller in game one and Will Ethridge in game two each relieved the starter and threw the final two innings without giving up a run or a hit.

“Coach always says we play ourselves in the game,” Dillard said. “We can’t look on the other side whether it’s Florida or Eastern Illinois. We have to play our game, that helps us in any game.”