Recap: Ole Miss Baseball drops home opener to Arkansas State, 4-2

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss baseball (2-3) dropped its third consecutive game of the young season, falling 4-2 to Arkansas State (5-0) at Swayze Wednesday night.  Here is what went down in the game from top to bottom.

To start, Mason Morris took the ball for Ole Miss. Arkansas State jumped out early after an RBI on a fielder’s choice to take a 1-0 lead. Morris allowed two hits, with no errors. 

To begin Ole Miss’ bottom half of the first, Luke Hill drew a four-pitch walk followed by a double play to leave Jackson Ross at the plate with two outs and nobody on. Ross drew a walk along with Judd Utermark, but the Rebels popped out in the next at-bat to end the frame scoreless.

In the second inning, Morris began by giving up his second run — a solo shot to left field for the Red Wolves. The game remained 2-0 in favor of the visitors for quite some time. Finally, in the bottom of the third, the Rebels picked up their first hit of the game, coming from Luke Hill. Jackson Ross was then hit by a pitch, but unfortunately, the inning concluded on a line out to left field. 

Freshman Wes Mendes took over on the bump to start the fourth inning, replacing Morris, who allowed two earned runs on four hits while striking out three. Mendes finished the fourth, allowing two runs off of a sac fly and a single from Arkansas State.

In the top of the fifth, Luke Hill reached base on a walk. Hill then stole second and was moved to third after a balk call. Jackson Ross put Ole Miss on the board for the first time in the game with an RBI single to make it a 4-1 ballgame. 

First RBI as a Reb for Jackson Ross

📺 SECN+ pic.twitter.com/NO6TYlc3FL

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 21, 2024

Entering the top of the sixth, Brayden Jones replaced Wes Mendes on the bump. Jones worked through his first inning, allowing zero runs and one walk. Fast forward to the seventh, and Jones again did not allow any runs, giving the Ole Miss offense another golden opportunity.

Finally, in the bottom of the eighth, down 4-1, Judd Utermark cranked a solo shot to left-center field, showing some life in this Ole Miss offense. Groff followed with a single of his own, but Arkansas State turned a double play on Andrew Fischer after a hard-hit ground ball to second base.

Cue the Lights 💡 pic.twitter.com/xYMY37cneT

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 22, 2024

Heading into the last inning of play, Mason Nichols was handed the ball, and he delivered by pitching a scoreless ninth. In Ole Miss’ last three outs of the game, the Rebs went down in order to give Arkansas State the 4-2 win.

Offensively, the top Ole Miss performers were Luke Hill (1-2, H, R, 2BB) Jackson Ross (1-2, H, RBI, HBP), and Judd Utermark (1-3, HR, BB). On the bump, Brayden Jones (3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits) and Mason Nichols shined (1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 strikeout) out of the bullpen. 

As announced by Coach Bianco, JT Quinn, Gunnar Dennis, and Grayson Saunier will toe the rubber this weekend against High Point.

Next Up:

Ole Miss hosts High Point in a three-game series beginning Friday night at Swayze Field. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.