Myers pitches Ole Miss to 4-1 SEC tourney win over Vandy

Friday, May 28, 2021, Vol. 45, No. 22

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Tyler Myers pitched seven-plus innings to outduel Vanderbilt star Jack Leiter Friday in Mississippi's 4-1 victory over the Commodores in a Southeastern Conference Tournament elimination game.

The fifth-seeded Rebels (41-18) face top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Arkansas Saturday in the semifinals.

The Commodores (40-15) chased Myers in the eighth, loading the bases with nobody out. But they only produced one run out of the threat as reliever Brandon Johnson got a run-scoring double-play and an inning-ending grounder after giving up an infield single.

Johnson pitched a perfect ninth to pick up his first save.

Ole Miss scored two runs off Leiter (8-3) in the second inning with help from a hit batter and two walks.

Leiter, one of Major League Baseball's top draft prospects, allowed three runs, two earned, in 6-2/3 innings.

The Rebels added Kevin Graham's solo home run in the eighth. Graham had two of the four Ole Miss hits.

Meyers, making his third start of the season, allowed five hits and struck out six.

Ole Miss is seeking its seventh trip to the championship game and fourth title, the latest coming in 2018.