Saturday, March 12, 2011

who are those guys?

Two shining moments from Friday: Ole Miss' Matt Crouse throws a four-hit shutout to beat Lipscomb 8-0; and Belhaven's Derek Tortorich belts a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to beat Truett-McConnell 3-1. Gotta know more. Crouse is a 6-foot-4, 183-pound junior left-hander from Haymarket, Va. He spent a year at Young Harris Junior College in Georgia before transferring to Ole Miss for the 2010 season. Crouse was 5-1 with a 3.74 ERA last year; so far in 2011, as the Rebels' new No. 1 starter, he is 4-0 with a 1.67 and 22 strikeouts (nine on Friday) in 27 innings. He has issued only two walks. That's command. Tortorich is a 6-1, 200-pound senior from Picayune by way of Pearl River Community College. He shared catching duties last year on the Blazers' NAIA World Series team and hit .257 with five homers and 27 RBIs. For 2011, he's hitting .333 with two homers and 11 RBIs. Few homers at spacious Smith-Wills Stadium are cheap, especially now with the new bats. That makes Tortorich's walk-off blow Friday all the more impressive.

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