Upon returning home from Honolulu, Hawaii, with a 2-2 record on the weekend, the Ole Miss Baseball team took another blow, losing to the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Wednesday, Feb. 21, for their third loss in a row to start the season 2-3.
The Red Wolves quickly earned a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning off of an RBI single, but Ole Miss pitcher Mason Morris limited the damage to just one, closing out the inning strong. After a scoreless bottom half of inning one for Ole Miss, the Red Wolves third baseman Austen Jaslove, a transfer from Tennessee, hit a solo homerun to take Arkansas State to a 2-0 lead.
A quiet third inning for both teams led to yet another pair of runs from Arkansas State. Red Wolves right fielder Allen Grier brought in a runner with the bases loaded via sacrifice fly, followed by an RBI single from leadoff batter Wil French.
The Rebels finally got the bats going in the fifth inning after an RBI single from designated hitter Jackson Ross for his first RBI as a Rebel; this made the score 4-1. Unfortunately, this was all Ole Miss could muster in that inning.
Right-handed pitcher Brayden Jones came into the game to quiet down the Red Wolves’ bats, holding them to zero in three straight innings. Jones also picked off a runner in the top of the seventh after giving up a leadoff single, negating the hit.
Ole Miss first baseman Judd Utermark sparked some offense for the Rebels in the eighth inning, cutting the lead to just two runs and forcing a pitching change. However, the first pitch from the new pitcher resulted in a double play to end the inning.
The Red Wolves hit a two-out single in the top of the ninth inning, followed by a walk, but right-handed pitcher Mason Nichols stranded the runners to keep Arkansas State at bay. With only five hits up to that point, the Rebels looked to make a last-minute comeback.
Unfortunately, Red Wolves pitcher Arlon Butts made quick work of the Rebels, earning Arkansas State their first win in Oxford since 2008 and their fifth straight win of the 2024 season.
A disappointing game on both sides of the ball ended up in the Rebels’ third loss of the young season.
Ole Miss looks to bounce back as they host their first home series of the year on Friday, Feb. 23, at 4 p.m. against the High Point Panthers. A series sweep would put the Rebels back on track, but anything less would raise even more eyebrows, as concern for the state of the baseball team would skyrocket.
