Will Stokes succeeds with clean outing in Ole Miss rout of Arkansas State

OXFORD | It was nice for Will Stokes to see a zero on the board.

The senior right-hander entered in a game that was all but decided on a Wednesday that wouldn’t make for much of a headline unless an Ole Miss loss happened. And that wasn’t happening, as it had been a blowout since the second inning.

But when Stokes entered in the seventh inning of an eventual 10-3 Ole Miss win over Arkansas State, there were runners on base, and Stokes needed a positive outing. There were two on and one out, and after getting to an 0-2 count, Stokes gave up an odd infield single to load the bases.

But instead of the big hit that had been happening of late, Stokes struck out Winston Welch on four pitches and got a fly ball to end the threat, strand the runners and, at least for one night, reverse his recent slide.

"He was terrific," Mike Bianco said. "He's had a tough couple outings and in conference play they get magnified. He's had so many big innings for us over the years. He threw it like he's capable... all pitches and to both sides of the plate."

The win puts Ole Miss at 11-0 in midweek games and 30-8 overall. The Rebels are 22-1 in non-SEC play, one win away from tying the 2002 Ole Miss teams for the most nonconference regular season wins under Mike Bianco. The Rebels have non-league games remaining with Arkansas State, Arkansas Pine Bluff and Mississippi State.

Stokes threw 77.2 combined innings his sophomore and junior seasons and had an ERA under two both years, converting 11 saves and allowing opposing batting averages of .228 and .244, respectively.

However, this season, instead of continuing his significant role in the bullpen, Stokes had thrown only 12 innings through the Rebels’ 37 games because of poor performances. After a stretch of four appearances spanning 6.2 innings from March 6 to March 17, the Meridian, Miss., product hadn’t pitched an inning in a game without getting pulled.

He gave up three hits without picking up an out against Texas A&M, three hits and a walk around two outs against Arkansas and two hits and two runs in two-thirds of an inning against Mississippi State.

So, in midweek action for just the third time this season, Stokes needed good things to happen against the Red Wolves. He got out of the seventh inning mess he inherited and also threw a perfect eighth inning with a strikeout and two groundouts.

"Obviously I've struggled but it was nice to do what I did," Stokes said. "I've been missing over the plate a lot, and in this league they hit that a long way. I have to come out of the same tunnel all the time. Sometimes I drop it or come over the top. I have to be consistent."

Stokes threw 22 strikes in 29 pitches, the most pitches he’s thrown in an outing since the same number on March 6 against Austin Peay.

Jordan Fowler started for the first time since struggling against Southern Miss and gave up just a solo home run in five innings. He struck out four, walked one, scattered five hits and got the win behind a lot of early offense.

"We wanted to get him some innings," Bianco said. "He got a little tired in the fifth, but you can't fault him. He was in the strike zone all night."

Ole Miss scored three in the first with a bases loaded walk and then a Will Golsan two-run double. An inning later, four runs crossed courtesy of matching two-run home runs from Grae Kessinger and Thomas Dillard.

Golsan, Nick Fortes and Ryan Olenek each had two hits. Olenek ran his hitting streak to 16 games before leaving in the fourth inning after hitting a ball off his toe. He’s now hitting .403 on the season.

Bianco said it was precautionary and Olenek will be fine.