Tulane out-hits Ole Miss to waste Thomas Dillard's career day

NEW ORLEANS | Even Thomas Dillard couldn’t overcome Ole Miss pitching on Saturday.

The junior outfielder hit two home runs, added a double and had eight RBIs to go with the two runs scored. The final shot was a booming blast in the top of the ninth that gave Ole Miss a one-run advantage. It was pandemonium above the first base dugout as a large contingent of Rebel fans celebrated and Parker Caracci trotted to the mound.

“I’d heard he had good velocity,” Dillard said. “I was hunting a ball to put over the fence with the wind out there today. I saw his fastball pretty good and I choked up and put a good swing on it. I have momentum and a hot streak going, but each time you have to know what you want to do and how that at-bat can help the team."

But less than 10 minutes later, David Bedgood hit a 2-1 pitch over the right-field wall for a 13-12 walkoff to even the series. The deciding game is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Dillard’s eight RBIs are two shy of the school record 10 set by Charlie Conerly in 1947. The Rebels had 10 hits including four home runs and two doubles. Tim Elko’s first hit of the season was a solo shot, and Tyler Keenan went back-to-back with Dillard in the third inning.

“(Dillard) is swinging it as well as he possibly can and thankfully for us he’s on our side,” Mike Bianco said.

Ole Miss dug out out of a 10-6 hole with three-run frames in the seventh and ninth innings, but it was enough as…

… Ole Miss has at least somewhat of a pitching problem.

First here are all the caveats:

It’s five games into a 56-game regular season, and it’s too early to draw any true early conclusions.

There were sustained 20 MPH winds out of Turchin Stadium, as the jet stream served as a performance-enhancer to any ball batted into the air in Uptown New Orleans.

Ole Miss ace Will Ethridge is unavailable this weekend because of a blister that the Rebels are being precautionary with until it’s completely healed. Any team missing its best arm shifts the rest of the rotation around and alters how bullpen arms are implemented during a series.

Tulane averaged 14 runs in the four previous games prior to the weekend against the Rebels.

Now, in saying all that, Tulane beat the Rebels by scoring in seven of its nine offensive innings and pounding out 17 hits a day after putting up 12 in the two-run Ole Miss win. The Wave hit four doubles, three home runs and were a blistering 12-for-17 with runners on base. Overall, Tulane hit .447 and had eight extra base hits Saturday.

“It’s a tough day and it’s one of those days where you’re not really sure but the team with the last at-bat may be at an advantage,” Bianco said. “You have to make pitches and stay ahead in the count. And it’s hard with this today, but it’s 17 hits. You have to credit Tulane."

On Friday Mike Bianco used “a lot of traffic” to describe Zack Phillips’ start, and Houston Roth, who is a less than a week back from a shoulder injury a couple weeks ago, struggled to finish off hitters and threw 64 pitches in 2.2 innings.

Ole Miss threw five pitchers who all allowed at least one earned run and none pitched more than Roth’s 2.2 innings. A night after the bullpen flirted with constant trouble but secured 4.2 innings without an earned run, the relievers combined for eight runs in 6.1 frames.

Tyler Myers and Jordan Fowler each threw scoreless innings but struggled during their second times out of the dugout. Starting with the nine runs to Wright State one week ago, things have been hit or miss for an Ole Miss staff replacing all three starters from last season. It’s understandable for niches to still be evolving, but a mixture of struggles to get ahead and a lack of successful out pitches have plagued the Rebels to this point.

Ole Miss has a terrific offense, but it can’t do it alone. One week is far too short of a time period to gnash teeth or up the threat level, but an eye turns toward the situation as the Rebels hand the ball to Gunnar Hoglund on Sunday with a depleted bullpen and a win necessary to win one of their first two weekends.

With the weather front coming through New Orleans tonight, the win shoot reverse and blow dead in at Greer Field on Sunday. A catalyst for chaos should become a crutch, and Hoglund and others can take a shot at reversing the early trend.

But a reversal is certainly necessary. Taking out Will Ethridge’s excellent season opener of no runs in 5.2 innings, Ole Miss starters have allowed a combined 25 hits and 17 runs in 12.2 innings.

Including this one when even Dillard’s career day couldn’t overcome it.