Ole Miss falls 7-3 to LSU in opening game of the series
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss hosted LSU in game one of the three-game series at Swayze Friday night and put up a fight against the No. 1 Tigers before ultimately falling, 7-3, to the visitors from Baton Rouge.
Ethan Lege went 2-for-4 with a run scored and Will Furniss went 1-for-4 with a three-RBI home run on the night. Brayden Jones pitched 4.2 innings of relief and gave up just one run on three hits while striking out six batters.
Following a first half of the SEC campaign that featured series against the current No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 nationally-ranked teams in Florida, Vanderbilt and Arkansas, respectively, as well as road trips to the always-tough environments of Texas A&M and Mississippi State, Ole Miss faced its biggest test of the season against the nation’s consensus No. 1 team Friday night.
The Tigers (30-7, 10-5 SEC) have held that top ranking from preseason through the start of this weekend series with the Rebels (21-17, 3-13 SEC).
From a pitching perspective, it was a strong day on the mound for Ole Miss’ Xavier Rivas and reliever Jones — outside of the LSU fifth.
Through the first four frames, Rivas was outstanding as he gave up just two runs off an Ole Miss error and a wild pitch. The Rebels led the Tigers, 3-2, after four complete, courtesy of Furniss’ home run.
When Rivas took the mound in the fifth, his pitch count was sitting over 90. Unfortunately, the Rebs relinquished the 3-2 lead when LSU slugger Tommy White hit a grand slam off Rivas that gave the Tigers a 6-3 advantage.
The Rebel lefty had thrown 103 pitches before the grand slam. After the game, Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco was asked about his reasoning for leaving Rivas in to face White.
“I know it’s frustrating but there’s a couple things that go through your mind. One, I wanted the left-hander to see the middle of the lineup. Their splits are a lot different (against left-handed pitchers). …And (Rivas) is your ace. I knew he was losing it but he was losing it in the fifth and we needed some length. It’s Friday night and so there was a lot of reasons to leave him out there. Obviously, White made us pay for that.”
Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco
In total, Rivas struck out six, allowed three walks and four hits in 4.1 innings pitched.
Jones came in for Rivas in the fifth and did excellent work, closing out the game and allowing just three hits, one run and two walks, and matching Rivas’ six strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work.
At 73 pitches, it was Jones’ longest outing of the year. In essence, the freshman helped save the rest of the bullpen for the final two games of the weekend, allowing Bianco more options as Ole Miss looks to win the series.
Strikeout No. 6 for @bt16jones as he escapes the jam! Terrific stuff out of the 'pen tonight from 46.
4.2 IP
3 H
1 R
2 BB
6 K pic.twitter.com/yuyTgLBzXg— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 22, 2023
“I thought it was good,” Jones said of his performance.
“Just attacking the zone. I thought my strike percentage was really good, just filling up the zone. That’s what you’ve got to do. It’s a really good line-up over there (LSU). At the end of the day, you just got to throw it in there and make them hit it.”
Pitcher Brayden Jones on his outing vs LSU
Freshman Will Furniss was another star for the Rebels, providing the only scoring for the home team.
The Nacogdoches, Texas native is the son of former LSU and SEC legend Eddy Furniss. The elder Furniss is a 2010 College Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and two-time All-American. He set SEC career records for hits (352), doubles (87), home runs (80), RBIs (309) and total bases (689).
The young Furniss clobbered a two out, 1-2 fastball from LSU starter Paul Skenes over the right centerfield wall to score Kemp Alderman who doubled and Ethan Lege who singled.
SHOWERS IN RIGHT 💣 | @WillFurniss pic.twitter.com/jXnQ9esvLS
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 22, 2023
“He (Skenes) left it over the plate just a little bit too much, not exactly where he wanted to throw it and I got my barrel head out and barreled it up and hit it out of the yard,” Furniss explained.
“Felt great in the moment. I was hoping to give our team some confidence. Maybe get some offense rolling against (Skenes). Felt great at the time I was rounding the bases. First in-conference home run and I’ve been struggling little bit at the plate. So, I fixed some things and that kind of helped me out a little bit knowing that my work is paying off.”
Will Furniss on his three-run home run
Next Up for Ole Miss
The series against LSU continues Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Swayze Field. If you’re unable to find your way to the game, check out the ESPN2 broadcast with Ole Miss great David Dellucci and LSU legend Ben McDonald sharing the color responsibilities in the broadcast booth.
Saturday features the long-anticipated return of sophomore Hunter Elliott who hasn’t seen game action since the opening weekend against Delaware when he recorded the win and struck out nine. After having been out for roughly two months and working his way back from a UCL sprain, Elliott is expected to be on a conservative pitch count that will likely be around 50 pitches.
LSU sends right-handed junior Ty Floyd (5-0, 3.92 ERA, 39.0 innings pitched, 17 walks, and 40 strike outs) to counter Elliott.
Chris Muller
Chris is our Director of Baseball Content and Senior Baseball Writer. Muller is a 1995 Graduate of Ole Miss. He is a collegiate recreational sports professional currently residing in Arlington Texas with his wife of 25 years, Amber, and German Shorthaired Pointer, Sophie. Chris is an avid Ole Miss Baseball and Football fan. His hobbies include watching college football and baseball and playing poker with his friends.
