OXFORD, Miss. — No. 1 Ole Miss hosts the UCF Knights in a weekend series at Swayze. First pitch in game one is set for 4:00 p.m. (CT), and we’ve got all your batter-by-batter updates here in our Live Blog!

WE WILL HAVE A BATTER-BY-BATTER UPDATE HERE IN OUR LIVE BLOG THROUGHOUT THE GAME. SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATES AND REFRESH AS NEEDED.

FINAL: OLE MISS 2, UCF 3

Inning 9

Top of 9th

Due up for UCF: 4-5-6. Rathbone-McCabe-Crouch.

To the mound for the Rebels will be Taylor Broadway for Austin Miller. Rebels trail UCF, 2-1. 

Rathbone – He gets a leadoff double to start the 9th.

McCabe – He reaches on a fielder’s choice and advances to second. Then Rathbone gets to third on a throwing error and scores unearned. UCF takes a 3-1 lead over the Rebels. UCF has runner at second with no outs. 

Crouch pops up on the bunt attempt. One out for UCF.

Freeland – singles to left field. McCabe advances to third. Runners on the corners with one out.

Allen – reaches on a fielder’s choice (bunt). Freeland advances to second and McCabe is out at home. Run-saving play at the plate from Broadway to Dunhurst. UCF leads 3-1 with two outs, runners on first and second.

Ruiz – Nine-hole hitter for UCF up next. Miller gets him to go down looking!

Bottom of 9th

Due up for Ole Miss: 4-5-6. Graham-Van Cleve-Dunhurst. Rebels down 3-1. Litchfield back to the mound for UCF. 

Kevin Graham – Graham is quickly behind in the count but gets back to full count. He then goes down looking. Rebels down to their final two outs.

Ben Van Cleve – Ben grounds out to short. Two down.

Hayden Dunhurst – HOMERS TO LEFT FIELD!! 3-2, UCF leads. 

Cael Baker – Baker is HBP. LaFleur on to pinch run for him.

Hayden Leatherwood – Leatherwood comes up to bat with runner on, two outs, and Rebels down 3-2. He reaches on a fielder’s choice and LaFleur is out at second.

End of Game: Ole Miss 2, UCF 3

Inning 8

Top of 8th

Due up for UCF: 9-1-2. Ruiz, Pena, Archer.  Back to the mound for Ole Miss goes Austin Miller. Change in the field: TJ McCants to 2B for Knox Loposer. 

Ruiz – He grounds out to third.

Pena – singles to third. Pena thrown out by Dunhurst at second as he attempts to steal on the pitch out. Two down!

Archer – He draws the walk. UCF with runner on and two outs.

Orlando – Third baseman for UCF up next. He flies out to center and to the B8 we go.

Bottom of 8th

Due up for Ole Miss: 1-2-3. Bench-Gonzalez-Elko

New pitcher for UCF as David Litchfield takes the mound for Gordon. 

Justin Bench – The Ole Miss CF is up to bat to start what will hopefully be a rally here in the 8th. Rebels trail UCF, 2-1. He grounds out to 2B.

Jacob Gonzalez – He grounds out to first.

Tim Elko – He grounds out to first and the Rebels are retired three-up, three down.

End of 8th Inning: Ole Miss 1, UCF 2

Inning 7

Top of the 7th

Due up for UCF: 4-5-6. Rathbone-McCabe-Crouch.  Nikhazy back to the mound for Ole Miss. He begins the inning with a pitch count of 77.  Rathbone – Rathbone begins the inning with a solo home run for UCF. Game is tied 1-1.  McCabe – Five-hole hitter and DH McCabe is up next. He strikes out via leaning in to the 3-2 pitch. That would be the third strike and he would be out. Play is under review. Call will stand. That’s strikeout No. 10 for Doug. Crouch – Homers to left center and UCF takes a 2-1 lead over the Rebels. Pitching change for the Rebels: Austin Miller to the mound for Doug Nikhazy. Doug finishes the day with 90 total pitches. His line: 6.1 IP | 3H | 2R | 1 BB | 10 Ks Freeland – UCF shortstop up next. He draws a walk. UCF with runner on first and one out. Knights lead 2-1. Josten – Eight-hole hitter Josten pops up to second. Two down for UCF. Runner on first. Freeland is picked off at first by Hayden Dunhurst on another fantastic throw to Cael Baker.

Bottom of 7th

Due up for Ole Miss: 7-8-9. Baker-Leatherwood-Wood.  Gordon back to the mound for UCF. He starts at 87 total pitches.  Cael Baker – Rebels’ first baseman goes down looking. Hayden Leatherwood – Hayden flies out to center as Pena makes a great play to run it down. Knox Loposer to pinch hit for Garrett Wood – Loposer goes down swinging and Gordon sits the Rebels down in order.

End of 7th Inning: Ole Miss 1, UCF 2

Inning 6

Top of 6th 

Due up for UCF: 1-2-3. Pena-Archer-Romano. Doug Nikhazy back to the mound for the Rebs. His pitch count is 70.  Pena – Doug gets Pena to go down swinging! That’s Doug’s 7th strikeout of the game! Archer – Another K for Doug as Archer strikes out swinging. That’s the 8th. Rebs lead 1-0. Rushing – He’s on to pinch hit for Romano. He strikes out looking! That’s 9 for Doug!

Bottom of 6th

Due up for Ole Miss: 4-5-6. Graham-Van Cleve-Dunurst.  Gordon back to mound for UCF. He begins the inning at a pitch count of 74. Changes in the field for UCF: Ruiz to rf, Josten to lf, Rathbone to 1B, and Orlando to 3B for Rushing. Kevin Graham – Ole Miss left fielder leads things off in the sixth. He falls behind 0-2 and then strikes out swinging. Ben Van Cleve – The Rebels’ DH pops up to right field. Two down. Hayden Dunhurst – Ole Miss catcher grounds out to second to end the sixth.

End of 6th Inning: Ole Miss 1, UCF 0

Inning 5

Top of 5th

Due up for UCF: 7-8-9. Freeland-Josten-Ruiz Nikhazy back to the mound for Ole Miss. He’s thrown 53 total pitches as the inning begins.  Freeland – The UCF shortstop flies out to right field for a leadoff out. Josten – He flies out to right field. Two down, nobody on. Ruiz – Nine-hole hitter Ruiz is up next. He’s 0-1 today. Doug gets him to go down swinging! That’s Nikhazy’s sixth K of the game!

Bottom of 5th

Due up for Ole Miss: 9-1-2. Wood-Bench-Gonzalez.  Gordon back to the mound for UCF. He’s thrown 64 pitches thus far.  Garrett Wood – Nine-hole hitter Wood grounds out to second. Justin Bench – Bench doubles down the left field line. Jacob Gonzalez – The Rebel shortstop pops up to left. Ole Miss with runner on 2nd and two outs. Tim Elko – The Ole Miss third baseman and three-hole hitter is up next with one RISP and two outs. He grounds out to third to end the fifth.

End of 5th Inning: Ole Miss 1, UCF 0

Inning 4

Top of 4th

Due up for UCF: 3-4-5. Romano-Rathbone-McCabe.  Doug Nikhazy back to the mound. He’s thrown 43 total pitches thus far today.  Romano – Romano draws a four-pitch walk to give UCF a leadoff runner. Rathbone – Cleanup batter Rathbone pops up to left field. Graham with the catch. One down and runner on first. McCabe – Five-hole hitter McCabe flies out to center. Two down, runner on first. Crouch – UCF catcher up next. He falls behind quickly, 0-1. He then flies out to center.

Bottom of 4th

Due up for Ole Miss: 3-4-5. Elko-Graham-Van Cleve.  Back to mound for UCF will be Gordon. He’s thrown 42 pitches as the B4 begins.  Tim Elko – The Ole Miss captain falls behind 0-2 before striking out on the third pitch. Kevin Graham – The cleanup batter for the Rebels pops up to shortstop. Two down for Ole Miss. 0-0. Ben Van Cleve – The DH is up next and he singles to left center! Rebs with a runner on. Hayden Dunhurst – Ole Miss catcher up next. He falls behind, 1-2, but comes back to single though the left side! Van Cleve gets to second. Rebs with two runners on and two outs. Cael Baker – The Ole Miss first baseman comes up to bat with two outs and two on. He’s got a full count and then singles to center and gets and RBI as Van Cleve scores! Dunhurst goes to third. Ole Miss leads 1-0! Hayden Leatherwood – Ole Miss RF up to bat. Rebels have runners on the corners with two outs. He grounds out to short to end the fourth. Rebels lead 1-0.

End of 4th Inning: Ole Miss 1, UCF 0

Inning 3

Top of 3rd

Due up for UCF: 9-1-2. Ruiz, Pena, Archer. Nikhazy back to the mound for Ole Miss. He begins the third with 30 total pitches. Ruiz – The nine-hole hitter for the Knights starts out with a 3-0 count but Doug battles back to bring it to full count. Ruiz pops up to second for a leadoff out. Pena – Center fielder Pena falls behind quickly, 0-2. Doug gets him to go down swinging on a 92 mph fastball! That’s Doug’s fifth K of the day. Archer – Two-hole hitter for the Knights up next. He grounds out to second as Doug retires the Knights in order.

Bottom of 3rd

Due up for Ole Miss: 8-9-1. Leatherwood-Wood-Bench. Gordon back to the mound for UCF. He begins the B3 with 32 total pitches.  Hayden Leatherwood – singles up the middle! Garrett Wood – hits into a DP. He and Leatherwood are out. Justin Bench – To the top of the order we go and Justin promptly hits a single to right field. Two outs, runner on. 0-0. Jacob Gonzalez – Rebs’ shortstop is up next. (Bench steals second.) Review of whether Bench is safe at second. Call on the field was safe, and it looked like UCF missed the tag. CALL is upheld. Bench is safe at second. Jacob grounds out to second to end the third.

End of 3rd Inning: Ole Miss 0, UCF 0

Inning 2

Top of 2nd

Due up for UCF: 5-6-7. McCabe-Crouch-Freeland. Nikhazy back to the mound to start the inning with 15 total pitches.  McCabe – The UCF DH goes down swinging! Another K for Doug, his third. Crouch – The six-hole hitter is hit by pitch. Knights with runner on and one out. Freeland – UCF shortstop flies out to center — all the way to the wall. It’s run down by Bench for the second out. Josten – He’s struck out by Doug, his fourth of the day!

Bottom of 2nd

Due up for Ole Miss: 4-5-6. Graham, Van Cleve, Dunhurst. Gordon back to the mound for UCF. He begins with 11 total pitches.  Kevin Graham – Ole Miss left fielder gets down in the count early, 0-2, but comes back to even it up at 2-2. He then grounds out to 2b. Ben Van Cleve – The five-hole hitter for the Rebels draws a walk and the Rebs have a runner on. Hayden Dunhurst – The Rebs catcher is up next. He reaches on a fielder’s choice. Van Cleve out at second. Two down, one on for Ole Miss. Cael Baker – First baseman Baker goes down swinging and to the top of the third we go.

End of 2nd Inning: Ole Miss 0, UCF 0

Inning 1

Top of 1st

Ole Miss sends pitcher Doug Nikhazy to the mound. Due up for UCF will be: Pena, Archer, Romano.  Pena – The UCF CF goes down swinging! First strikeout of the game for Doug! Archer – He gets a one-out single. UCF with a runner on. Romano – Doug gets the Knights’ first baseman to go down swinging! Rathbone – He flies out to right field to in the top half. #HottyToddy

Bottom of 1st

Due up for Ole Miss: Bench, Gonzalez, Elko Justin Bench – The Ole Miss CF flies out to center. Jacob Gonzalez – The Rebels’ shortstop flies out to right field. Tim Elko – Elko goes down swinging as UCF retires the Rebs in order.

END of 1st Inning: Ole Miss 0, UCF 0

(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)