Ole Miss Baseball Defeats Hawaii in 13 Innings to Open the Season

It took 13 innings and almost five hours, but Ole Miss baseball has begun the season 1-0. The Rebels defeated the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 5-4 in the 13th inning of the series opener in Honolulu Friday night.

Ole Miss (1-0) jumped on the scoreboard in the second after a double by Ethan Lege and a two-run bomb by Ethan Groff.  

Groff and running. 👋@ethangroff12 pic.twitter.com/DrL11JGfep

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 17, 2024

On the mound for the Rebels facing the Rainbow Warriors was right-handed sophomore JT Quinn. Hawaii had trouble against Quinn as through the first three frames, the ‘Bow’s had just two runners on base by a walk and a hit. Quinn recorded five strikeouts in the first three innings. 

In the third, Ole Miss tacked on an additional run after a walk by Judd Utermark came into score on a base hit by Lege. 

Lege finished the game going 3-for-6 with a double and run scored and two RBI. 

Hawaii’s (0-1) starter Harrison Bodendorf tossed four complete innings and allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts. 

Hawaii got on the board in the fourth, after two runners reached via the walk after a lead off strikeout looking. Austin Machado and Sean Rimmer each delivered a single that scored a run. Hawaii cut the Rebels’ lead to 3-2. 

Coach Mike Bianco made a call to the bullpen in the fourth for Mason Morris with runners on the corners and one out. Morris gave up a double to Kyson Donahue that brought home Machado and knotted the game at 3-3. 

Quinn finished the game as he worked 3.1 innings, surrendering three runs on three hits while striking out six batters with three walks. 

Morris tossed 2.2 innings, allowed a hit with no runs, a walk and three strikeouts. In the seventh, Brayden Jones took over on the mound for Ole Miss. Jones  worked 1.2 innings with three hits and a run while striking out two batters before turning it over to Mason Nichols with the bases loaded. Nichols (1-0) worked 4.1 innings to pick up the win with no runs on no hits with five strikeouts and three walks. 

In the top of the fifth, Hawaii made a call to the bullpen for right hander Alex Grioux. Grioux tossed 3.1 innings with no runs on two hits with three strikeouts and three walks. 

Groff led off the sixth inning for the Rebels with a hit but couldn’t get around to break the 3-3 tie. 

In the top of the eighth, Groff led the inning off with a single and couldn’t score.

Hawaii made a change on the bump in the eighth with Groff at first and an out in the frame. Connor Harrison took over, working 1.2 innings with one run on a hit with a walk and two strikeouts. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Hawaii broke the tie after back-to-back hits from Ben Zeigler-Namoa and Matthew Miura. Zeigler-Namoa came home to score on a wild pitch to give Hawaii a 4-3 lead.

In the ninth, Ole Miss loaded the bases after a hit, walk and a hit by pitch. Groff delivered a sacrifice fly that tied the game at 4-4 as Jackson Ross came into score. Groff finished the night going 3-for-5 with a home run a run scored and three RBI. 

It’s 3:15 a.m. CT and the Rebs have the lead pic.twitter.com/8J9fh6hbCM

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 17, 2024

Hawaii turned the ball over to Danny Veloz who threw for two complete frames with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. His teammate Hunter Gotschall toed the rubber in the 12th. 

Connor Spencer took the mound for the Red and Blue in the bottom of the 13th to close the game out. Spencer faced three batters with two strikeouts to pick up the save. 

Goodnight. pic.twitter.com/nMmISSlmw6

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 17, 2024

The Rebel pitchers combined to strikeout 18 Hawaii batters in the season opener. 

Next Up

Ole Miss and Hawaii will return to the diamond on Saturday for a doubleheader, playing a pair of seven-inning games. The Rebels will have Gunnar Dennis on the mound in game one and Grayson Saunier on the mound for game two. The game times are set for 5:05 p.m. and 8:35 p.m. CT. 

Adam Brown

Adam Brown joins The Rebel Walk as the Managing Editor after being on the Ole Miss beat as a Sports Editor for over 11 years. He is a lifelong Oxford resident. Brown graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Prior to The Rebel Walk, Brown was the sports editor of HottyToddy.com covering every Ole Miss sport and local high school sports in the community.