Feb. 16, 2013

Final Stats |  Notes |  Photo Gallery 

OXFORD, Miss. - Holding a slim 2-1 lead heading to the bottom of the eighth, Ole Miss rallied with four two-out runs to steal a 5-2 victory over TCU Saturday afternoon. Preston Morrison fanned a career-high nine in the no-decision.

Fans were once again treated a pitcher's duel as Preston Morrison and Mike Mayers went toe-to-toe for the first four innings of the game. It was Mayers who would crack first as the Frogs found a way to push across a pair of runs in the fifth.

TCU found a little two-out magic in the top of the fifth inning as it pushed across its first runs of the 2013 campaign. Keaton Jones started the two-out rally with a bouncer up the middle. Kyle Bacak followed with a looping fly ball that just evaded the outstretched glove of the second baseman to put runners on the corners. A walk to Cody Jones loaded the bases. Derek Odell came through with a single through the right side that gave the Frogs a 2-0 lead.

Ole Miss answered in the bottom of the frame, cutting the lead in half with a run on a walk and a base hit. Stuart Turner earned a one-out walk and was standing on second with two outs. Will Jamison came through with a two-out single to left center to make it a 2-1 contest.

A lead-off walk spelled disaster for the Frogs in the eighth as the Rebels took advantage of the opportunity presented to score four times with two outs. Bacak made a strong play on a sacrifice attempt to throw out the lead runner for the first out. A grounder made it two outs, but on the play the runner moved to second. Tanner Mathis came through for the Rebels, tying the game with a single up the middle.

The breaks kept going the way of the Rebels as Mathis stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Following a walk to Austin Anderson, Austin Bousfield hit a chopper down the first base line. The ball looked to be a for-sure out, but the ball took a wicked hop over the fielder's head down the right field line to give the Rebels a 3-2 lead. An infield single and error on a ball hit by Will Allen broke the game open as two runs crossed the plate for a 5-2 Ole Miss lead.

TCU didn't go quietly in the ninth as it battled back to load the bases. Travis Hennessey and Kevin Daniels hit back-to-back pinch-hit singles and Cody Jones drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Ole Miss closer Brett Huber worked out of the jam, getting a fly ball to end the game.

Morrison was strong in his first start of the season. He allowed just two runs on two hits in seven-plus innings of work. The sophomore walked two and struck out nine. Justin Scharf (0-1) was charged with a run on a hit in 2/3 of an inning. Andrew Mitchell allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk in 1/3 of an inning.

TCU falls to 0-2 on the young season. The Frogs will try and avoid the sweep Sunday afternoon. First pitch is slated for Noon at Oxford-University Stadium. Stefan Crichton will make his first start of the season for the Frogs.

TCU Baseball