Ole Miss Baseball’s opening weekend is undoubtedly one of the most exciting times in Oxford. However, this year’s season started off with a whimper as the team headed to the University of Hawaii at Manoa to face off in the Rainbow State, ending with a 2-2 record.
The Rebels played the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in game one on Friday, Feb. 16 at 10:30 p.m. CT, and the game lasted almost until the sun came up in Mississippi at 4 a.m. Ole Miss took control of the game early, hitting two home runs thanks to the efforts of two Rebel infielders. Fortunately for Ole Miss, Hawaii could not recover, and suffered a 5-4 loss.
Saturday was a double header, and the first game was a continuation of the success the Rebels saw on Friday night. During the second inning, senior infielder Bo Gatlin hit the first home run of the night when he hit a deep ball to center field, officially starting the action and bringing the score to 3-0.
The Rebels were able to comfortably take care of business in game two of the Saturday double-header, winning 5-2
Unfortunately, the second game of the double-header was a different story for Ole Miss because the Rainbow Warriors came out ready to play and took an early lead. It was not until the fifth inning that the Rebels were able to put a single point on the board, but Hawaii came right back and put up three more, making the final score of game three 9-1.
Sunday night was the last game of the opening weekend series, and the Rebels were unfortunately not able to tie it up with a bow. While Ole Miss had hoped to claim the series in their fourth and final game against the Rainbow Warriors before heading back to Oxford, this was not the case. A series split is a difficult way to start the season, and to top it all off, Ole Miss had to travel over 4,000 miles to participate in the tournament.
The Rebels had six errors and four walks on Sunday, so there is a lot of improvement to be made for the first home game. However, Gatlin continued to have an impressive weekend with an RBI in the fourth inning.
Although Sunday’s game ended in a heartbreaking 13-4 loss for Ole Miss, hopefully the Rebels will be able to turn the momentum back on when they play on home turf. On the bright side, the Rebels gained back right-handed pitcher Josh Mallitz. Pitching was a big problem last year, so the added depth should prove useful as the season progresses.
The Rebels will travel back to Oxford and host their first home game against Arkansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 21. The first pitch is at 4 p.m. CT and will be streamed on SECN+.
