OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Jacob Gonzalez hit a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning to open the scoring and added a two-run double in the Mississippi’s six-run second and the Rebels beat Arizona 12-3 on Saturday night to avoid elimination from the best-of-3 Oxford Super Regional.
Ole Miss (45-21), which dropped a 9-3 decision to Arizona in the series opener, forced a Game 3 on Sunday.
Gonzales, a true freshman, went 3 for 4 with a walk, three RBIs and three runs and Peyton Chatagnier hit a two-run homer to make it 7-0 in the second inning. Doug Nikhazy (12-2) gave up two runs on six hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings and his 12 wins are a single-season program record. The junior has 142 strikeouts this season, the second-highest total in Ole Miss history. Lance Lynn struck out 146 batters for the Rebels in 2007.
Donta Williams went 2 for 4 with a solo shot in the top of the seventh inning for Arizona (44-16). Bullard and Holgate hit back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth.
Hayden Hurst went 3 for 4 with two RBIs for Ole Miss.
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