Diamond Rebs spares dramatics, extend winning streak to seven

Matt Smith was 4-for-4 at the plate with four runs scored and three RBI to help lead the Rebels to a seventh-consecutive win as No. 14 Ole Miss (30-13) defeated Tennessee-Martin (19-21) by a score of 15-6 on Wednesday.

Smith connected for his 10th home run of the season in the first inning to tie the score at two after a quick start by the Skyhawks and never looked back as he also reached base when he was hit by a pitch to reach base safely in every plate appearance on the night.

All nine Rebel starters notched a hit in the outing as the squad tallied 18 hits in the game.

“Tonight we continued to swing the bat well,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “We’re on a good streak right now, and hopefully it will continue into this weekend. Eric Callender was solid to start the game and Tanner Mathis and David Phillips came in and did a great job to finish things off. Matt Smith is locked in at the plate right now and has really become the complete hitter we knew he could be when he came here.

“This weekend series is big not only for the SEC race but for the rivalry and the fans. We’ve seen Mississippi State already this year in the mid-week, but need to get these wins this weekend A lot of our players and their players grew up playing against each other, and a good series this weekend would be huge.”

Callender (3-1) picked up the win as he worked 5.0 innings and allowed four runs - three of them earned - on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Tanner Mathis and David Phillips closed things out from there as Mathis worked 3.0 innings and Phillips pitched the ninth.

Matt Miller (0-1) took the loss for Tennessee-Martin as he worked the second inning and gave up two runs - one earned - on two hits. The Skyhawks used eight pitchers.

The Rebels took the lead for good when Alex Yarbrough scored on a sac fly from Miles Hamblin after opening the game with a single and advancing to second on a single from Taylor Hashman. Hashman then scored on a passed ball to give Ole Miss a 4-0 lead.

Ole Miss then put together another big inning, scoring six runs in the bottom half of the frame in an inning that saw 11 batters go to the plate as the Rebels put the game out of reach.

Friday’s game will begin at 7 p.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports Net. Saturday’s game is at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised by SportSouth, while Sunday’s game will begin at 1:30 p.m. and is carried by CSS.