Rebs break up no-hitter but can't complete comeback in 3-2 loss to ECU

OXFORD | Cliff Godwin hoped for four or so innings out of Jake Kuchmaner on Wednesday.

He got that and a whole lot more.

The East Carolina left-hander fell one out from a no-hitter and led the No. 18 Pirates’ 3-2 victory over No. 10 Ole Miss in Oxford. The Rebels loaded the bases in the ninth, but a Cooper Johnson fly out finished the game and preserved Kuchmaner’s win.

Making his second start of the season, Kuchmaner struck out nine, walked one and hit a batter. Thomas Dillard broke up the no-hitter with a sharp single to right field to end his day. Tyler Keenan followed with a single to score two runs, and an error and a walk loaded the bases for Johnson’s at-bat. Sam Lanier picked up the final out for ECU.

It was the only inning that Ole Miss had any success with East Carolina.

“He hit both sides of the plate and put it where he wanted,” Dillard said. “You have to give him props. He had his best stuff and we didn’t do the best job of fighting it.”

The Rebels only took five at-bats to at least five pitches through the first eight innings, and Kuchmaner was at 89 pitches going into the ninth. He consistently started counts with strikes and mixed in a wealth of changeups and breaking balls to keep the Rebels off-balance and off his fastball that stayed in the mid 80s.

“That’s the reporter talk for when they pitch really well should you have taken more pitches but the truth is he threw a lot of strikes,” Bianco said. “We took some that were strikes and swung at some that were balls out of the zone. You just credit them. We can really swing it but that guy was terrific.”

The Rebels were that close to being no-hit last in 2008, when MSU’s Ricky Bowen came an out away. Michael Hubbard wrecked that bid with an infield single.

Ole Miss’ worst offensive output of the season erased a quality pitching day from starter Doug Nikhazy and relievers Austin Miller and Connor Green. Nikhazy struck out six — including five through the first two innings — and had a three-run home run in the fourth as his only blemish.

ECU’s Spencer Brickhouse hit a hanging breaking ball into the right field bullpen for the Pirates’ only runs of the day. A double and single started things in front of Brickhouse.

Nikhazy touched the low 90s with his fastball and threw 51 of 80 pitches for strikes.

“It was just that one inning,” Bianco said. “Doug was terrific and he got to two strikes on those guys in the middle that would hit for any SEC team. He overthrew a breaking ball and left it up. It’s tough to run through them and they put at-bats together.”

Austin Miller and Connor Green kept East Carolina there the rest of the way. Miller struck out three in three innings, and Green scattered a hit around two strikeouts in the ninth. Miller has allowed one run in 13.1 innings this season with 10 strikeouts and one walk. Green hasn’t allowed a run in 8.2 innings, and he has 11 strikeouts without a walk.