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

DeLucia pitches a gem as Ole Miss continues late-season magic
OMAHA — For six innings sturdy Dylan DeLucia had pitched the game of his life. He had faced 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 run and prompt a mound visit from No. 5, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco. DeLucia had thrown 84 pitches to that point.

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 decision — 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 State 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 NCAA Tournament, 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 Series 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 hitting 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
Events happening this weekend in Mississippi: April 18-20

SUMMARY: This weekend (April 18-20), Mississippi offers a variety of events for all ages. In Jackson, enjoy Food Truck Friday, a jazz concert, free outdoor movie screenings, and multiple exhibitions including “Of Salt and Spirit” and “Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers.” For family fun, there’s an Easter Egg Hunt at the Ag Museum and “Bunnies & Butterflies” at MCM. Natchez features the Spring Pilgrimage, Lafayette’s 200th anniversary celebration, and a farmers market. In the Pine Belt, highlights include Live at Five, a Spring Candle-Making Workshop, and Easter events at the Hattiesburg Zoo. Don’t miss the Bluff City Block Party and more!
The post Events happening this weekend in Mississippi: April 18-20 appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
Events happening this weekend in Mississippi: April 11-13

SUMMARY: This weekend in Mississippi (April 11-13), enjoy a variety of events across the state. Highlights include the Eudora Welty Birthday Bash in Jackson, Trivia Night at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, and Boots & Bling Fundraiser in Natchez. For family fun, check out the Bunny Bonanza in Jackson or the Easter Egg Hunt in Clinton. The Natchez Concours d’Elegance Car Show and Stranger Than Fiction Film Festival offer cultural experiences, while the 12th Annual Dragon Boat Regatta in Ridgeland and the Hub City Classic Car Show in Hattiesburg provide exciting activities for all ages.
The post Events happening this weekend in Mississippi: April 11-13 appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
Ole Miss women get pair of double-doubles and roll to 83-65 March Madness win over Ball State

SUMMARY: Mississippi coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin found solace in returning to a different arena in Waco, Texas, following a disappointing previous tournament experience. The No. 5 seed Ole Miss Rebels redeemed themselves with an 83-65 victory over 12th-seeded Ball State in the NCAA Tournament’s first round. Starr Jacobs led the Rebels with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Kennedy Todd-Williams and Madison Scott each scored 15 points. Ole Miss dominated rebounding, leading 52-32, and will face fourth-seeded Baylor next. Coach McPhee-McCuin noted the team’s evolution since their last visit and the significance of playing in Texas, where Jacobs feels at home.
The post Ole Miss women get pair of double-doubles and roll to 83-65 March Madness win over Ball State appeared first on www.wjtv.com
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