Jon Keller Throws a Complete Game As No. 30 Alabama Defeats No. 9 Ole Miss 3-1 on Sunday
By Chris Hale
Jon Keller threw a complete game and held ninth-ranked Mississippi to one run, as the No. 30 Alabama Crimson Tide completed a series sweep over the Rebel with a 3-1 Southeastern Conference victory on Sunday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
With their first series sweep over a top-15 SEC opponent since 2009, Alabama moves to 19-8 overall and 6-3 in SEC play. Ole Miss’ loss drops the Rebels record to 21-8 overall with a 4-5 conference mark.
Keller (5-1) continued his strong pitching with his longest career outing, limiting the Rebels to one run on seven hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. The south paw from Maylene, Ala., threw the first Alabama complete game since March 30, 2012, throwing 116 total pitches, while lowing his season ERA to 1.50, the lowest mark of any of Alabama’s weekend starters.
Kyle Overstreet remained the Tide’s hottest hitter, as he notched a single, double, and a run scored to extend his team season-long hitting streak to 11 games. The three-hit performance was also his team leading 10thmulti-hit game of the season. Alabama’s sophomore second baseman hit .500 (5-for-10) in the series with three doubles, three RBI and two runs scored.
Ben Moore, who finished the series 6-for-11 (.545), posted a pair of singles and a run scored. Mikey White’s only hit of the game was a solo home run in the fourth inning and Wade Wass was 1-for-3 with an RBI single.
Sam Smith (3-2) was charged with the loss as the Rebels’ starter surrendered three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Offensively for the Rebels, both Sikes Orvis and Will Allen posted two-hit performances, while Colby Bortles scored their lone run.
Despite being unable to score a run with bases loaded in the first, the Rebel bats broke through for the first run of the game in the second. A leadoff walk from Bortles was followed by a single to right by Orvis, putting runners on the corners and no outs. Keller induced a groundout double play from Errol Robinson, but Bortles crossed home on the play to put Mississippi on top early, 1-0.
Continuing the trend of the series’ back-and-forth scoring, the Tide struck for three runs in the bottom of the fourth. White brought in their first run of the inning with a leadoff home run over the left field wall, for his second home run of the season. After Moore singled and Overstreet doubled to set up runners on second and third with no outs, Wass sent a line drive off Sam Smith’s shin for an infield single, which allowed Moore to score the go ahead run. Austen Smith capped the scoring by driving in Overstreet on a fielder’s choice to put the Tide up 3-1 after four.
Alabama did not need another run for the remainder of the game, as Keller dug in to blank the Rebels for the final seven innings. Over that stretch, Keller struck out seven, while allowing four singles and a walk.
The Alabama baseball team returns to action on Tuesday for a midweek matchup with the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m. from Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Following their midweek tilt, the Crimson Tide will hit the road for their fourth Southeastern Conference matchup of 2014, as they travel to College Station, Texas, for a weekend set against the Texas A&M Aggies.
Recap and Image Courtesy of UA Media Relations: Video Embed from AL.com