Ole Miss takes down No. 5 Arkansas, 7-4, in game two, evens the series with the Hogs
OXFORD, Miss. – Entering the weekend, Ole Miss looked to turn things around in SEC action after a 1-8 start to league play. Inclement weather in the Oxford area for Thursday night’s game forced a doubleheader Friday against the visiting No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks.
When it was all said and done, the Rebels and Hogs split the first two games with Arkansas winning game one, 11-2, and the Rebels bouncing back to take game two, 7-4.
Game 1: Arkansas 11, Ole Miss 2
Game one was tough for the Rebels in a number ways. Jack Dougherty got off to a good start, allowing just two unearned runs through four innings. The junior would run into problems, however, in the fifth when his day would come to a close after Arkansas plated six runs.
Positively, Dougherty recorded seven strikeouts while allowing just two walks. His overall record fell to 2-3.
.@JackDougherty7 gets his fourth K on the day and keeps Arkansas quiet in the 3rd pic.twitter.com/R2PvAV3ieV
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 7, 2023
KKKKKKK
Count em up! 🎯 | @JackDougherty7 pic.twitter.com/SfxOEt3Q1G
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 7, 2023
Offensively, the big hit for the Rebs in game one came off the bat of left fielder Kemp Alderman. The Decatur, Mississippi native powered his team-high 12th home run of the season, which also scored Jacob Gonzalez, in the eighth inning.
.@KempAlderman goes yard and puts the Rebs on the board. pic.twitter.com/3sV2Q1xB3K
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 7, 2023
Other Rebels with hits in game one included Gonzalez, Ethan Groff, Ethan Lege, Peyton Chatagnier, and Captain Garrett Wood.
Game 2: Ole Miss 7, Arkansas 4
For the second week in row, the Rebels fought back following a game-one loss as they defeated the Razorbacks 7-4 to pull even in the series. Ole Miss was strong on the mound and at-bat as the Red and Blue held the Hogs to four runs and seven hits while scoring seven runs on eight hits — including two home runs.
The difference in the game may have been Ole Miss pitchers stranding 11 Razorbacks on base while only leaving five on base, themselves.
Game-two starter Xavier Rivas had a great outing for Ole Miss, throwing a season-high 109 pitches in six innings. He improves to 5-2 on the season.
Rivas was able to limit Arkansas to two runs as he minimized threats in the second, fourth, and fifth innings. The transfer from Indianapolis struck out seven while giving up four walks.
After the win, Rivas talked about his outing.
“I thought the best thing I did was minimize damage in certain situations, especially in that second inning. We really needed that as a team so that we didn’t fold over and could have a rough game like the last game. Offense and defense had a rough first game, so I needed to give them a chance.“
Xavier Rivas
.@XavierRivas33 strikes out two in the fourth. Rebs headed back to bat. pic.twitter.com/wbtGw9gHzJ
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 7, 2023
Coach Bianco was proud of Rivas’ day.
“We talk about it sometimes. It’s usually the difference in the game. Can the pitcher make the pitch to get off? (Rivas) certainly did tonight,” Bianco said postgame.
“They had some traffic. In other times, he (Rivas) looked like he was in total control. They have an ace on the other side in, not only one of the best pitchers in our conference, but one of the best pitchers in the country. He went head to head with him. Proud of him. It wasn’t easy for a lot of reasons. He was terrific today.“
Coach Bianco on Xavier Rivas
In relief, Mitch Murrell pitched a scoreless seventh inning and perfect eighth. Mason Nichols recorded the final three outs to register his third save.
Early in game two, Arkansas and Ole Miss traded single-run innings with the Hogs scoring first in the top of the second and the Rebels later tying the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame, when Alderman walked and came around to score on a Reagan Burford groundout.
Ole Miss took a one-run lead, 2-1, in the bottom of the fourth when Lege scored Anthony Calarco on an up-the-middle single. Arkansas then knotted the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth.
And just like that, @_ethanlege puts the Rebs on 🔝 pic.twitter.com/PpR9UAmkpa
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 8, 2023
The big inning for the Rebels, however, was the sixth when Ole Miss scored five runs on three hits — including two home runs.
The hit parade started when Groff led off with a solo home run to left field.
GROFF GOES OFF 🚨🚨🚨🚨 | @ethangroff12 pic.twitter.com/Fw4elp4iSk
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 8, 2023
Next, Calvin Harris was hit by a pitch, Alderman singled and Harris scored on a wild pitch. Calarco then walked, setting the table for Ethan Lege. The junior college transfer had one home run on the year entering the game, and he doubled that output on a three-run homer over the visitor’s bullpen at Swayze.
Lege explained the Rebels’ never-give-up mentality.
“The team we have, we’re all really close to each other and we’re not ever going to give up. That’s the thing. We’re going to give it our all every game. No matter win or lose. We’re going to keep the positive attitude.”
Ethan Lege
After the win, Coach Bianco explained what he told his team between the first and second games.
“We talked about it between games, and I challenged them. I said, ‘It’s tough when you get your butt kicked, but one of the good things about this league, and you see it all the time in doubleheaders or Friday – Saturday games where a team gets beat up in the first game and responds and wins game two. It happens all the time in this league.’ Fortunately it happened today for us. That’s the beauty of the league. That’s the tough part of this, but it’s the beauty of the league. You’ve got to play well or you don’t win. You play well, you got a shot and we played much better in game two.”
Coach Bianco
Next Up for Ole Miss
The Rebels aim to win their first SEC series of the year with a 2:00 p.m. CT rubber game against Arkansas Saturday.
JT Quinn (3-0, 5.79 ERA, 28 innings pitched, 28 strikeouts, 14 walks) will start for Ole Miss, and Will McEntire (4-1, 5.77 ERA, 34.1 innings pitched, 27 strikeouts, 11 walks) is expected to start for the Hogs.
Hotty Toddy!
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
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.
