Ole Miss took on the Little Rock Trojans in its second to last non-conference game of the season, and it was a nail-biter. The Rebels pulled out a 12-10 win, but it did not come easily.
Coming off of their first conference series win of the season against Georgia, the Rebels held onto hope that they could hear their names called during the College World Series selection show. However, if this showing against Little Rock indicates how this last stretch of the season will go, Ole Miss will not have a back-to-back championship to look forward to.
This was a high-scoring affair between two teams not used to shootouts. One team had to come out on top in this offensive matchup, and the Rebels used some seventh and eighth-inning runs to secure the lead.
From the very start of the game, it was evident that Little Rock would not roll over and accept a loss. The Trojans notched a two-run home run off of Luke Pectol’s bat in the first inning, which immediately put pressure on the Rebels’ offense to respond.
In the bottom of the first inning, Ole Miss outfielder Calvin Harris hammered a homer to cut Little Rock’s lead to one.
After three innings, the score was tied 2-2, but both teams got a big chunk of their scoring done in the fourth inning.
Little Rock hit Ole Miss in the mouth, scoring five runs in the top of the fourth. For the Rebels, Kemp Alderman walked, just for Ethan Groff to send him home with his two-run homerun. The same would happen with John Kramer walking and TJ McCants sending them home. After four innings, Little Rock still led 7-6.
The Trojans did not take the pressure off, as they accumulated three more home runs in the sixth inning. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Kramer hit a two-run homer of his own to bring the score to 10-8.
After inning seven, the score was 10-9 until Jacob Gonzalez hit an RBI single to allow Reagan Buford to score the tying run. A sum of RBIs from Ethan Lege and Harris propelled Ole Miss to its eventual 12-10 win.
Rebel fans would have loved to see a more dominant win over a team like Little Rock to give them some hope for a playoff berth, but the remainder of the season schedule, coupled with the SEC tournament, gives the reigning national champions slim hope of even securing a spot in the postseason.
The upcoming schedule for Ole Miss sees them take on Missouri, Auburn and Alabama for its remaining season series and Austin Peay in its final non-conference game of the season.
The series against Missouri will take place in Columbia, Mo., and starts on Thursday, May 6, at 6 p.m. CDT and will air on SEC Network+.
