What we learned from Ole Miss baseball's three-game sweep of Purdue

OXFORD — Ole Miss baseball once again relied on the formula it has executed throughout a strong nonconference slate in a three-game sweep of Purdue.

Mash baseballs first. Worry about everything else later.

The Rebels (14-2) hit seven home runs ‒ three each for TJ McCants and Kemp Alderman ‒ and scored 28 runs on their way to wins over the Boilermakers (8-7) by the scores of 15-7, 7-6 and 6-1.

Here's what we learned from the series.

GAME 1:Ole Miss baseball takes series opener from Purdue behind TJ McCants' performance

GAME 2:Kemp Alderman slugs walk-off homer to give Ole Miss baseball Saturday win over Purdue

GAME 3:Ole Miss baseball rides superb outing from Xavier Rivas to sweep of Purdue

Kemp Alderman's transformation from solid to special is complete

The most telling thing about Alderman's performance against the Boilermakers was the plate appearances where the bat never left his shoulder.

Having been tormented by the Ole Miss left fielder in the first two games of the season, Purdue had clearly decided enough was enough by Sunday. The Boilermakers pitched around him three times and intentionally walked him once. Alderman never got a chance to swing the bat.

Despite the respect shown to him on Sunday, Alderman drove in 10 runs, including a walk-off home run to win Saturday's game.

All told, Alderman went 5-for-8 and reached base 10 times in 13 plate appearances.

His numbers on the season are outrageous. He's batting .390 with a 1.327 OPS. He has more walks than strikeouts, has driven in 26 runs and has eight home runs. And, while you'd expect those numbers to naturally decline once he begins to face SEC pitching this week, this doesn't feel like a fluke.

As Rebels coach Mike Bianco said, nobody has hit the ball as hard as Alderman has during his time at Ole Miss. His first home run Saturday left his bat at 118 miles per hour.

Xavier Rivas delivers Ole Miss' strongest outing yet

Mixing his changeup, fastball and slider to perfection, Xavier Rivas was masterful in his fourth start at the Division I level on Sunday.

Rivas went six innings ‒ tying Jack Dougherty for the longest outing by an Ole Miss starter this season. He allowed just one run, striking out six and walking one. After issuing eight free passes in his first three starts, that was important progress. Bianco said Rivas ditched his curveball and focused on his slider, which allowed him to be more consistent in the strike zone.

Of the seven hits Rivas allowed, most were instances of poor contact that happened to find a hole.

Rivas, who transferred from the Division II ranks, said he now feels adjusted to this level.

"It was more just trusting my stuff," he said. "I don't need to be somebody I'm not, and that was the biggest thing. Just continuing to execute the pitches, and it's going to come around eventually."

Bianco rewarded for faith in Ethan Lege

Bianco has not tinkered with his lineup very much this season, but it seemed prudent to wonder if he might make a move at third base following Saturday's game.

Ethan Lege had made an error that nearly cost Ole Miss the game, allowing Purdue to score the tying run in the eighth inning and send the game to extras. That was the fifth error on the season for the offseason junior college addition, who, before Sunday's game, was batting .214.

But Bianco stuck with him, and it paid off. Lege delivered a pair of clutch, run-scoring singles and drove home another run with a sacrifice fly on his way to a four-RBI performance that the Rebels hope will awaken his bat.

"I feel like it adds on," Lege said. "Keep seeing it well, keep getting hits."

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: What we learned from Ole Miss baseball's three-game sweep of Purdue