The Ole Miss baseball team, currently 30-16 on the season, will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, tonight to face the No. 9 LSU Tigers.
The Rebels will look to bounce back against the LSU Tigers this weekend after a disappointing midweek loss in Hattiesburg. The Rebels and the Tigers are coming into this series tied at 13-8 in SEC play.
The Tigers have had a quiet week, not taking part in any midweek matchups. Last weekend, they clenched a series win over Alabama.
The two teams came into game three with the series tied, and the LSU offense quickly put out any hopes Alabama had to win the series.
The Tigers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first before surging ahead with three runs in the top of the third inning. Catcher Saul Garza launched a solo home run, and second baseman Gavin Dugas hit a two-run double.
In the fourth, the Tigers increased their lead to 5-1 when left fielder Daniel Cabrera hit LSU’s second home run of the day, his eighth long ball of the season.
Alabama was able to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but the Tiger closer, Devin Fontenot, was able to get the final strikeout to end the game.
In their last outing, the Rebels lost a midweek matchup to Southern Miss 5-3 on Wednesday.
Despite all of the momentum that the Rebels carried into the contest after sweeping then-No. 6 Texas A&M last weekend, the Rebel offense struggled at the plate. The three and four-hole hitters went a combined 0-8 on the night. In total, the Rebel squad stranded nine runners throughout the game.
Southern Miss capitalized on the Rebels’ lack of offensive production, hitting three home runs. Two of the long balls came off the bat of right fielder Matt Wallner, who also robbed Cole Zabowski of a home run in the second inning.
In addition to struggling at the plate, the Rebels exhausted six arms on the mound. Starting pitcher Zack Phillips threw four complete innings, allowing three runs, two of which were solo home runs. Houston Roth took over for Phillips in the fifth and had one of his better outings this year. He tossed two innings, struck out two batters and only allowed one hit.
Max Cioffi relieved Roth in the bottom half of the seventh and quickly gave up back-to-back base hits and a run without registering a single out. Tyler Myers took over and successfully cut down the damage. After a solo home run in the eighth, Myers would give way to two more relievers.
Although Jordan Fowler and Taylor Broadway were able to finish the game unscathed, the Golden Eagles still walked away with the victory, snapping the Rebels’ five-game win streak over Southern Miss dating back to 2017.
This weekend’s series is crucial, with both teams hoping to keep the possibility of hosting a regional.
The first matchup between the Rebels and Tigers will begin at 7 p.m. tonight. The remaining games will start at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
