Late-Inning Rally Falls Short for Baseball in Series Opener Against Texas A&M
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Ole Miss baseball team (15-10, 0-7) opened a three-game series against Texas A&M (16-10, 2-5) Friday night with an 8-6 loss. The Rebels have now lost four in a row and are still seeking their first win in conference play.
Jacob Gonzalez got the scoring started early for the Rebels, launching a 440-foot home run to center field with Calvin Harris on board to give Ole Miss a 2-0 lead.
Texas A&M would tie things up in the bottom of the second inning when they strung together a solo home run, a double, and an RBI single. Jack Dougherty was able to limit the damage in the frame, inducing an inning-ending double play.
Anthony Calarco hit his first home run in SEC play in the top of the fourth inning, giving the Rebels a quick 3-2 lead. The Aggies answered back in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run of their own to tie the game once more.
In the top of the sixth, Calarco opened things with a leadoff walk and moved to second base on a single by Will Furniss. Peyton Chatagnier doubled down the right field line to bring Calarco home and put the Rebels in front 4-3.
After the completion of the sixth inning, the game went into a 1:27 weather delay with rain and lightning in the area. The delay effectively ended Jack Dougherty’s night as he went six innings and gave up three runs on seven hits while striking out three. It was his longest start since March 3 against Maryland, tying his career-high.
Coming out of the delay, Texas A&M loaded the bases on a bunt single, error, and intentional walk with one out in the inning. Jace Laviolette then laced a grand slam over the right field fence to give the Aggies a three-run lead.
Texas A&M added another run in eighth on a solo home run, their fourth of the game.
Kemp Alderman hit his team-leading 11th home run of the season in the top of the ninth inning as the Rebels put together a late rally. Alderman made it 8-6, but Ole Miss could not bring anymore runs across, falling in game one.
Ethan Groff, Jacob Gonzalez, and Will Furniss all had two hits in the game.
Up Next:
Game two between the Rebels and the Aggies will take place Saturday at 7 p.m. The contest can be watched live on SEC Network.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
