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DeLucia pitches a gem as Ole Miss continues late-season magic

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DeLucia pitches a gem as Ole Miss continues late-season magic

OMAHA — For six innings sturdy Dylan DeLucia had pitched the game of his . He had 19 Auburn batters and retired 18, mixing pinpoint control of his 92-93 mph fastball with a devastating slider. Ole Miss led 5-0.

Then, in the seventh, Auburn led off the inning with three straight hits to score a and prompt a mound visit from No. 5, Ole Miss coach . DeLucia had thrown 84 pitches to that point.

Rick Cleveland

Would Bianco take him out? Or leave him in?

Bianco had no intentions — none at all, he said afterward — of lifting DeLucia.

“I just wanted to check him emotionally,” Bianco said. “He’s tough as heck, but, man, he can be emotional. And I just wanted to make sure that we kind of calmed him down a little bit and got him back in the zone. That was it. I knew his stuff was good. … And so, I didn’t see a reason for him to come out with that lead.”

Wise — one that helped the Rebels win 5-1.

DeLucia struck out the next batter, then got the next two with a weak fly ball and a pop-out. He fanned the first two Auburn batters in the eighth inning, too.

Said Bianco, “That’s what the good ones do. The good ones make pitches and get off the field. They don’t let it blow up on them. Dylan did that tonight.”

DeLucia — “Loosh” to his teammates and his fans — was only marvelous. He wound up going 7.2 innings, allowing four hits and striking out 10. He pitched ahead in the count throughout and didn’t walk a single batter.

“DeLucia threw his fastball above us and his slider below us,” said Auburn coach Butch Thompson, an Amory native and former Mississippi pitching coach. 

Ole Miss got all the runs the Rebs would need in the first inning, plating two runs on Kemp Alderman’s smashed two-run, line-drive single to left field. Kevin Graham, who had doubled before that, then added a solo home run to left field in the third, and the Rebels scored two more in the sixth.

So this fairy tale-like Ole Miss postseason continues. After finishing the season with a mundane 32-22 record and coming within an eyelash of being left out of the , the Rebels have now won six straight NCAA games and have out-scored their opponents by a whopping 51-12. That’s right: 51 to 12.

The Rebels will face Arkansas, which earlier in the day slammed No. 2 Stanford 17-2, on Monday at 6 p.m. The winner of that one will be just one victory away from playing in the College World best-of-three championship series.

On paper, Arkansas is a better team. The Razorbacks’ victory over Stanford was the most lopsided CWS game in 34 years. Arkansas, which has won 44 games, won two of three from Ole Miss at Fayetteville the last weekend of April.

Clearly, this is a different Ole Miss team than it was a month and a half ago. These Rebels are playing baseball at a high, high level in every facet of the sport. They are pitching it well, pounding the strike zone. They are it hard and doing so when it matters most. Take Alderman’s first inning single that came with two outs. Indeed, all three Ole Miss hits in that inning came with two out. That’s what coaches call timely hitting. The Rebels have done it throughout this 6-0 NCAA run. They are catching it and throwing it well, too. A case in point: If you didn’t see it, you should have seen catcher Hayden Dunhurst whip a pick-off throw to first base for the third out of the eighth inning. If you blinked, you missed it.

Another huge part of this Ole Miss run is the bullpen. Josh Mallitz, who replaced DeLucia with two outs in the eighth, struck out the side in the ninth inning. Mallitz has been practically unhittable in the postseason.

Something amazing: The Rebels have pitched and played so well here lately, closer Brandon Johnson has been almost like the Maytag repairman. You don’t bring in your closer when you have a big lead, and the Rebels have enjoyed one in nearly all these postseason games.

They are a confident team.

Asked how the Rebels felt about playing Arkansas again, Graham responded, “Good. At this point it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. Everybody is good. Everybody can beat everybody.”

Count Ole Miss very much in that number.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi News

Cloudy and humid weekend – Home – WCBI TV

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www.wcbi.com – Sadie Morris – 2024-11-02 10:13:00

SUMMARY: In Columbus, Mississippi, humid and cloudy weather is expected, with temperatures remaining above average in the lower 80s for the upcoming . Rain is forecasted for Election Day on Tuesday, continuing into the week with isolated showers likely. This Saturday will see patchy fog in the morning, clearing by midday, with a high around 80 degrees. Sunday will bring similar humidity, with a high in the lower 80s and mild overnight lows in the mid-60s. Throughout the week, expect persistent clouds and humidity alongside mild temperatures.

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Mississippi News

Sports Zone Saturday: A must-win weekend for Mississippi's college football teams

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www.wjtv.com – Blake Levine – 2024-11-02 09:43:00

SUMMARY: College football is back in Mississippi for the 2024 season, with a lineup of exciting this Saturday. The Zone team will special coverage from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on . Notable matchups include No. 19 visiting Arkansas at 11:00 a.m. CT on ESPN, while Mississippi State celebrates Homecoming against UMass at 3:15 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. State UAPB for their Homecoming at 2:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+, and Alcorn State travels to face Alabama State at 4:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Southern Miss has a bye .

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Mississippi News

Danver’s celebrates forty seven years of continued success

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www.wcbi.com – Allie Martin – 2024-11-01 19:01:00

SUMMARY: Danver’s restaurant in , Mississippi, recently celebrated its 47th anniversary, maintaining a loyal customer base since its opening in 1977. General Larry Wade, who started as a cook, emphasized the restaurant’s focus on consistency, quality, and customer service. Despite economic challenges, Danver’s has thrived due to its enduring values and community connections, which patrons appreciate. Regular customers, like Tom Robinson, value the reasonable prices and consistent quality. The restaurant aims to continue this legacy, looking forward to its 50th anniversary in three years as it remains a cherished community staple.

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