Chuck's Closer Look: Dylan DeLucia is built different, and other stray Ole Miss observations from Omaha
OMAHA | After Ole Miss starting pitcher Dylan DeLucia had spun his masterpiece to start the Rebels’ march in the College World Series, the postgame press conference told more of the talented right-hander than the stat line.
Although that was impressive, with 7.2 innings of 4-hit ball with 10 strikeouts and no walks, the comments about DeLucia told a little bit deeper tale.
“He (DeLucia) never let us get anything going. He kept the leadoff hitter off base all night and never walked a batter,“ Auburn Coach Butch Thompson said.
“He just flooded the zone and had command of all his pitches. His slider was working, he worked both sides of the plate and he elevated his fastball for strikes that we couldn’t catch up to.”
Rebel DH Kemp Alderman, who had a big two-out, two-run single in the first inning of the 5-1 win to set the tone of the game, was asked about DeLucia.
“I faced him eight times in preseason camp and was 0-8,” Alderman smiled. “The way he works both sides of the plate keeps you off balance and then he throws in that slider and it’s over.”
“The way Dylan was mixing his pitches and throwing them all for strikes never allowed Auburn an opportunity to get anything going,” said Rebel Coach Mike Bianco.
“His confidence is very high, he stayed ahead in the count, his slider was nasty, his fastball had good run on it and he was working both sides of the plate. That’s how you win.”
When DeLucia ran out of gas, so to speak, Josh Mallitz was waiting in the wings to finish things off.
Finish them he did.
Mallitz pitched no-hit ball for 1.1 innings including three strikeouts.
“At the end of this season, Josh has been as good as anyone and he certainly was on against Auburn,” Bianco added.
The Rebels didn’t exactly bombard Auburn pitching, but during the time of the season when things weren’t going well, they could not get the timely hit.
That changed toward the latter part of the regular season and has certainly changed in the postseason.
Ole Miss is 6-0 and the only undefeated team in the NCAA Tournament with a spotless record.
“(Hitting) Coach (Mike) Clement stayed the course with these guys,” Bianco continued. “He kept telling them to believe in themselves as much as we believed in them and preached keeping their emotions in check to handle the situation they faced.
“It started to click late in the year and then when we got in the tournament, we have a clean slate and were playing with confidence. The timely hits and two-out hits with runners in scoring position have been big for us in the tournament.”
Ole Miss collected 11 hits against the Tigers and efficiently scored five runs.
Four came with two outs and against Auburn ace Joseph Gonzalez, who Ole Miss hadn’t yet faced this season. Lefty reliever Carson Skipper gave the Rebs more trouble, but by then the game was all but decided.
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Besides Alderman getting the ball rolling with the two-run single in the first, Kevin Graham was the offensive player of the game for Ole Miss, getting three hits, including a solo HR and scoring two runs.
After the game, Graham was a man of few words.
“All we have to do is keep playing the way we have been for the last month or so and we will be fine,” he stated when asked about facing Arkansas Monday at 6 p.m. central time.
“At this point in the season, everyone is good, so you have to play good.”
During the time the Rebels just were not clicking, Graham was out with an injury, which opens the debate of how important he is to this offense and this team.
To gauge how much is futile, but let’s put it this way. When Graham came back, opposing teams could no longer pitch around Tim Elko, he added another potent bat to a strong offensive lineup and the Rebs started having more success.
So you judge, but that’s a pretty compelling argument that he has been critical to the recent success and run the Rebs have made.
Monday’s opponent is yet another SEC West participant in the CWS.
Arkansas absolutely pummeled No. 2 seed Stanford 17-2 to open their CWS search for a title. The Hogs racked up 21 hits with nine players having multiple hits while facing six Cardinal pitchers.
It was a complete rout. Hats off to them, but what of the matchup with the Rebels?
The season stats show it should be a classic showdown, possibly one for the ages.
The Razorbacks are batting .277 for the year as a team. Ole Miss .279. The Hogs have a staff ERA of 4.04. The Reb pitchers have combined for an earned run average of 4.38.
During the regular season, Arkansas won two out of three in Fayetteville.
Ole Miss won the opener 4-2 in a Delucia jewel, but Arkansas took the last two 6-3 and 4-3.
In the 6-3 loss, freshman lefty Hunter Elliott threw 6.0 innings of 4-hit ball and gave up three runs.
For the series, the Hogs outscored Ole Miss, on their home turf, 12-10.
While the Rebels didn’t win the series, some on the team point to that three-game set as one of the turning points of the season, when they started back playing like they did earlier in the season when they were ranked No. 1 in the country.
Hold on to your hats, Reb fans.
A baseball donnybrook is in the making.
