OMAHA, Neb. - Dylan DeLucia allowed one run and struck out 10 batters in 7 2/3 innings, and Ole Miss continued its postseason roll with a 5-1 victory over Auburn in the College World Series opener for both teams Saturday night.
DeLucia mostly dominated an Auburn lineup that came in averaging just less than 11 runs per game in the NCAA tournament, with the Ole Miss starter limiting the Tigers to four hits without a walk before giving way to Josh Mallitz.
"I thought Dylan was terrific, as he's been not just down the stretch, but probably since we've injected him into the rotation," Rebels coach Mike Bianco said. "Against what we consider a really good Auburn offense, I thought he just mixed his pitches so well, fastballs in and out, a ton of sliders for strikes and then able to move the slider to get some punchouts."
Ole Miss (38-22) will play a second straight Southeastern Conference West Division rival when it faces Arkansas on Monday. Auburn (42-21) will meet Stanford in an elimination game.
After being the last at-large team selected for the NCAA's 64-team field, the Rebels won three straight games in the regional round and shut out Southern Miss twice in a super regional.
The Rebels scored four of their five runs against Auburn with two outs. Kemp Alderman drove in two with a base hit in the first inning off Joseph Gonzalez (7-4), Kevin Graham homered in the third and TJ McCants singled in a run in the sixth.
"That's something we've emphasized since I got here, getting that big two-out hit," Graham said. "With two outs, even with nobody on, there's a lot of inning left. Those two-out runs can be huge. They can be backbreakers."
The run support was more than adequate for DeLucia (7-2), who had worked out of the bullpen before becoming a starter April 1.
DeLucia mixed a sharp slider with a fastball still touching the mid-90s in the late innings on a hot, humid night. He retired 14 Tigers in a row before Brody Moore singled through the right side with two outs in the fifth for Auburn's first hit.
"I'm throwing it in the zone," DeLucia said. "Let them hit it. If they don't, good for me. Let them put the ball in play and let my defense work for me."
The Tigers ended the Rebels' 26-inning shutout streak in the seventh. Garrett Farquhar, who took over at second base in the fourth inning for an ill Cole Foster, doubled leading off and scored from third on Bobby Peirce's single to left.
DeLucia ran his tournament total for strikeouts to 31 in 19 1/3 innings and is the leader of a staff that's been at its best in June.
In six games, the Rebels have a 1.83 ERA and are averaging 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings, giving up fewer than 5.3 hits per game and striking out nearly six batters for every one they walk.
"The guys are pitching with tremendous confidence," Bianco said, "and that was Dylan today."