Dillard’s 2 HRs help Ole Miss clinch regional 19-4 over JSU
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Thomas Dillard homered on the first pitch of the game and later hit a grand slam as Mississippi again overwhelmed Jacksonville State, winning 19-4 on Sunday night to advance to an NCAA Super Regional for the sixth time.
Dillard finished with seven RBIs and had three of the 20 hits by Ole Miss (40-25). He had a sac fly in a five-run third inning that made it 6-0, and his slam — his 13th homer of the season — came in a six-run fourth. He added an RBI double in the sixth that hit off the right field fence only a few feet from being another homer.
The Oxford Regional clincher was coach Mike Bianco’s 750th win in his 19 seasons with the Rebels. Their only other Super Regional the past 10 seasons was in 2014, when they went to the College World Series for the first time since 1972.
Jacksonville State (39-23) lost 16-2 to Ole Miss in the opening round Friday night, then beat Illinois before eliminating Clemson earlier Sunday.
Ole Miss goes to SEC rival Arkansas, the No. 5 national seed, for the best-of-3 Super Regional. The Rebels won two of three at Fayetteville, Arkansas, at the end of March, and they split a pair of games in the SEC Tournament.
Rebels freshman Gunnar Hoglund (3-2) allowed two runs, one earned, over 5 1/3 innings. Gamecocks freshman starter Trey Fortner (2-6) went 2 1/3 innings and had the first five of 15 walks issued by six JSU pitchers.
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