Cramblitt breaks through with first SEC victory

Joey Vaughan
dm senior Staff writer

Sunday's 7-2 Ole Miss win over Auburn was a career milestone for senior pitcher Joey Cramblitt, who had chased an elusive conference victory for longer than he cared to.

Twenty-one previous appearances against Southeastern Conference opponents spread over a four-year career had resulted in an 0-6 record and an 8.84 earned run average. Cramblitt's record hasn't been indicative of his performance in many cases, though, as bad breaks and cold bats were the culprits in several close losses.

"That's the life of a pitcher," said Cramblitt. "You go out there and you do your job. You do the best that you can and you just wait for the guys to do the job behind you,"

Cramblitt, a 6-3, 225-pound righthander, didn't let his misfortune get him down, though.

"I always feel like I can win games," said Cramblitt. "If I throw well, I feel like I can win any game. It all comes down to how well we play defense and how well we swing the bats. We've got great pitching. We've got guys with a lot of heart. We may not have all the talent in the world, but we've got guys who will go out there and get the job done."

Cramblitt didn't get the opportunities in high school that most college baseball players had. He played only one year at Northeast Lauderdale High School before transferring to Mississippi School of Math & Science in Columbus, which didn't have a baseball program at the time. Instead of three or four years of competitive high school baseball, Cramblitt was forced to practice in front of his dorm with his high school teammate and hometown friend Eric Brown, who had caught for him at Lauderdale.

As a true freshman, Cramblitt made four appearances, posting a 1-1 record. He showed dramatic improvement his sophomore year, making 11 starts as the Rebels' midweek starter. Cramblitt's 9-2 record and 3.62 ERA both led the team, and the nine wins tied the Ole Miss record for third-most wins in a season.

Cramblitt also tossed his crown jewel that season, a complete-game shutout of Memphis. He struck out eight and walked just one on 99 pitches in the 6-0 Rebel win.

In his junior season, Cramblitt posted a 4-2 record and 6.59 ERA in seven starts. He earned his first career save with three innings of effective relief against Auburn in April.

Cramblitt has been the most effective in non-conference action, where he has posted an impressive 17-4 record over his career.

Now that he's gotten the SEC monkey off his back, Cramblitt has more important conference games to look forward to as the Rebels chase postseason play. Barring injury or last minute lineup changes, he's got starts left against Mississippi State, Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Arkansas.

Said Cramblitt, "We've got nothing but good teams from here on out."