For their final non-conference series before SEC play begins, Ole Miss hosted Jacksonville State out of the C-USA. The Rebels had won 10 games in a row coming into the series and shot up to 17th in the country.
Game one
Ace Hunter Elliot came into Friday’s start as good as anybody in the country with a 3-0 record and a 0.00 ERA, with just six combined hits over his three appearances.
His day against the Gamecocks would not go as smoothly, as he allowed four runs on five hits in just 3.1 innings.
Fortunately for Elliot, the Rebel bats stayed hot. Ole Miss put up seven runs with four runs coming in the sixth. Six of the seven runs came via the long ball as Luke Cheng got an RBI single to bring the seventh run home.
Mason Morris provided some much needed innings in relief of Elliott. Morris was essential in shutting down the Gamecocks offense, going 4.2 innings allowing just one hit with seven strikeouts. Connor Spencer clinched the three-out save.
Game Two
The Rebels wasted no time at the plate in game two, putting up nine runs in the first two innings. Isaac Humphrey continued his hot streak with a 2-RBI double in the first.
Like game 1, the Gamecocks took the first lead of the afternoon after plating one in the top of the first. However, the one run was all Saturday starter Riley Maddox surrendered as he allowed just two base runners until he exited in the sixth.
Jacksonville State did not go quietly, scoring three runs in the sixth off of reliever Patrick Galle before being replaced by Ryne Rodriguez. Rodriguez allowed a walk then a single to load the bases, but escaped trouble with a fly out to centerfield.
Ole Miss added a few insurance runs with a 2-RBI Ryan Moerman double followed by Isaac Humphrey being walked to bring a run in. Walker Hooks got a three inning save as the Rebels took game two and the series with a 12-4 score.
Game Three
The Rebels came into the finale looking for another series sweep as well as their 13th consecutive win.
Unlike the first two games, Jacksonville State was held scoreless in the first frame. In fact, the Gamecocks did not score both of their two runs until the sixth inning.
Ole Miss took an early 1-0 lead behind another Isaac Humphrey homer in the second inning before an offensive explosion in the fourth and fifth inning.
The Rebels scored four in the fourth with a Judd Utermark double that scored two, followed by a wild pitch and a safety squeeze.
Ryan Moerman blasted a three-run bomb in the fifth to put the game effectively out of reach at 8-0. Moerman had a career day at the plate going 3-4 with two homers and a single. He walked off the game with a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth, run-ruling the Gamecocks 13-2.
Mason Nichols went four innings allowing just one hit and two walks. Will McCausland and Landon Waters went two innings a piece.
Who’s Next?
The Rebels will travel to Mobile for their midweek matchup against South Alabama before hosting Arkansas in the first conference series of the year next weekend.
