Ole Miss (21-16) took care of business, defeating Arkansas State (12-21) 6-3 in their midweek matchup.
Right-handed pitcher Jordan Vera got the start in what would be a bullpen game for the Rebels.
Right out of the gates, Vera struggled to get in a rhythm and didn’t look comfortable. After giving up a leadoff walk in the first inning to Arkansas State’s Wil French, Blake Buriss hit an RBI-single to give the Red Wolves an early 1-0 lead.
Then, Kody Darcy hit an RBI-single and Arkansas State led 2-0 in the first inning.
In two innings of work, Vera gave up five hits and two earned runs. He also had a walk and a strikeout.
Right-hander Cole Tolbert came in the game to replace Vera in the bottom of the third inning.
Making just his third appearance of the season, Tolbert pitched well and silenced the Arkansas State bats.
He threw two hitless innings and struck-out four batters.
“He looked super dominant,” head coach Mike Bianco said about Tolbert’s performance after the game. “We’re going to need that.”
The Rebels were finally able to get in the run column in the top of the fifth inning.
With runners on second and third base with one out, Ethan Groff hit a ground ball to the third baseman who threw it to Arkansas State catcher Dylan DeButy to make the tag at the plate. But DeButy didn’t apply the tag and Peyton Chatagnier was safe to give Ole Miss its first run of the game.
Then, with the bases loaded and one out, Calvin Harris drew a walk to bring in another run for the Rebels and tie the game 2-2.
Arkansas State ended up re-taking the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, 3-2, after an RBI-sac fly was hit by Brandon Hager.
But the Rebels answered in the top of the sixth inning and tied the game at 3-3 thanks to an RBI-single by John Kramer.
Ole Miss had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the seventh inning when all of a sudden Arkansas State threw a wild pitch to give the Rebels a run and their first lead of the game, 4-3.
Ethan Lege got things going in the top of the ninth inning, hitting an RBI-single to give the Rebels a 5-3 lead. Kramer then hit an RBI-single of his own and Ole Miss extended the lead to 6-3.
Lege and Kramer both had good performances at the plate. Lege went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Kramer went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.
Despite their offense coming to life late in the game, the Rebels had their fair share of opportunities to tack on some more runs, but couldn’t capitalize.
They left 13 runners on base and were left stranded with the bases loaded multiple times.
“We just didn’t take advantage of too many baserunners,” Bianco said after the game. “I think we left six guys at third base with less than two outs, so we could’ve made it a lot easier on ourselves.”
The Rebels will face a tough test this weekend as No. 1 LSU comes to Oxford for a three-game weekend series. Game 1 is on Friday, April 21, at 6:30 p.m. CDT on SEC Network+.
