No. 11 Ole Miss Baseball traveled to South Carolina to face the Gamecocks for a weekend series April 17-19. After dropping the first two games, the Rebels bounced back with a dominant offensive performance in game three to avoid the sweep.
The Rebels dropped their second straight conference series and third of the season.
Game one (lost 3-2)
Despite solo home runs from Austin Fawley and Mitchell Sanford, Ole Miss came up short in a tightly contested series opener and fell 3-2 Thursday night.
Left-hander Hunter Elliott delivered a solid start for the Rebels, striking out five batters in over five innings of work. He allowed three runs on six hits, with two of those runs coming during a decisive fifth-inning rally that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game.
Ole Miss tied the game in the third when Fawley launched a solo shot to left center — his tenth of the season — to even the score at 1-1. But in the bottom of the fifth, South Carolina strung together four singles and plated two runs to retake the lead, 3-1.
Sanford trimmed the deficit with a solo blast to right field in the sixth to pull the Rebels within one, but Ole Miss could not push across another run.
The Rebels tallied six hits on the night but struggled to generate momentum. A pair of double plays in the fourth and seventh innings cut potential rallies short, and a fielding error in the ninth offered a final chance before a game-ending double play sealed the loss.
Mason Morris delivered a solid outing in relief. He kept South Carolina off the board and struck out four across more than two innings.
Game two (lost 7-2)
Ole Miss lost 7-2 in Friday’s matchup and dropped the weekend set to South Carolina.
Hayden Federico gave the Rebels an early spark with a solo home run to left field in the top of the first, but the Gamecocks quickly responded with a three-run bottom half. An RBI single tied the game, and a wild pitch combined with a fielding error allowed two more runs to cross the plate and shifted momentum firmly in South Carolina’s favor.
Rebel starter Riley Maddox was tagged with the loss. He allowed four runs in his outing. Ole Miss turned to its bullpen early and used seven pitchers throughout the game in an effort to slow the Gamecock offense, but South Carolina continued to tack on runs.
Nathan Hall added a solo homer in the second, and Blake Jackson followed with one of his own in the sixth to extend the lead to 5-1. The Rebels showed signs of life in the eighth when Federico singled and came around to score on a Judd Utermark RBI base hit to trim the deficit to three.
South Carolina responded immediately in the bottom half of the frame. Hall came through again with a two-run single up the middle to push the lead to 7-2 and put the game out of reach.
The Rebels were limited to just four hits on the night and struggled to generate any sustained offensive momentum.
Game three (won 12-2)
Ole Miss exploded for seven runs in the first inning, setting the tone early in Sunday’s series finale. Sanford got things rolling with a solo home run to right field on a 3-2 pitch to give the Rebels an immediate 1-0 lead.
Later in the inning, Utermark punched a single through the left side to drive in Luke Hill, and with the bases still loaded, Fawley blew the game open with a grand slam to left. Will Furniss capped the inning with a bases-loaded walk that brought home another run and gave Ole Miss a commanding 7-0 lead before the defense even took the field.
The Gamecocks responded in the bottom of the second. Beau Hollins homered to right center, driving in two runs to cut the deficit to 7-2.
Both teams struggled to generate offense in the middle innings as they settled into a defensive rhythm. In the top of the sixth, Furniss extended the lead to 8-2 with a home run to center field. Federico then punched a two-run single through the left side to score Fawley and Ryan Moerman to make it 10-2.
Sanford struck again in the top of the seventh, launching his second solo home run of the day to right center. Shortly after, Utermark added an RBI single up the middle to bring home Hill and give the Rebels a 10-run lead to end the game early.
Who’s next?
Ole Miss will travel to Pearl, Miss. to face Mississippi State on Tuesday, April 22. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
