What wrecked Ole Miss pitching vs Troy after Rebels built four-run lead in CWS loss

Through four innings of Ole Miss baseball‘s College World Series elimination game vs Troy, the Rebels did a good job of keeping the Trojans’ offense in check.

Rebels’ starting pitcher Hunter Elliott allowed two runs on three hits.

However, after scoring a run on a balk in the fifth inning, Troy’s offense came to life. The Trojans erased a four-run deficit and won 12-8 over Ole Miss, ending the Rebels’ season on June 14 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.

“Credit Troy for getting the big hit and time and time again,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “And you look at the back half of the game, we scored runs, but we just couldn’t stop them. They just continued. … Certainly, were able to make adjustments, hit a fastball out. Hit a slider out. I think might have hit a changeup out.”

After the balk, Troy (39-31) scored two more runs in the fifth inning on a double hit by Sean Darnell, cutting Ole Miss’ lead to 6-5.

In the seventh inning, Troy further overwhelmed Ole Miss (41-23), scoring four runs to take the lead.

After reliever JP Robertson gave up a game-tying home run and a single, the Rebels called on Walker Hooks, their top reliever. His day started with a four-pitch walk, followed by a two-RBI double and an RBI single that put the Trojans up by three.

Hooks eventually got out of the inning but was pulled after giving up a leadoff home run to Blake Cavill in the eighth. He allowed three hits and three runs with a walk and a strikeout in ⅔ innings.

“We didn’t want to bring him into the seventh today,” Bianco said of Hooks. “We thought that was a lot of outs to ask him to get, not necessarily physically, but the adjustments that they’ve made, that they started to make against Hunter. … I know when he came in today, it seemed like a lot of balls just missed middle.”

The Trojans finished the Rebels off with two unearned runs in the eighth scored on a dropped infield pop-up.

Although Troy’s offense wasn’t excessively explosive during the regular season, hitting .285 and averaging 6.8 runs, the Trojans have been one of the better hitting teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Entering the game against Ole Miss, the Trojans were averaging 9.9 runs and hitting .333 across their eight NCAA Tournament games. The Trojans finished the game with 14 hits.

“We have an amazing coaching staff that prepares us really well whenever teams flip script or whenever they bring somebody out of the pen,” said Troy designated hitter Jabe Boroff, who was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. “We always are fed the correct information, or the best information to our knowledge of what we’re getting and what we’re getting ourselves into. So just being prepared and staying confident in the box.”

Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss baseball overwhelmed by Troy offense in CWS elimination