Ole Miss Baseball Drops Series to No. 15 Kentucky

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Ole Miss and Kentucky played game two of their three-game series Saturday afternoon, and it was the Wildcats who were victorious 17-9 at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.

The Rebels (18-10, 3-5 SEC) and the Wildcats (23-4, 7-1) play again on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

After Ole Miss starter Liam Doyle got out of the top of the first inning with no damage, the Rebels struck first with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Luke Hill led off with a single, followed by an Andrew Fischer single. Jackson Ross singled to score Hill, while a fly ball to center by Ethan Lege scored Fischer. Ole Miss was up 2-0.

However, the Wildcats had a four-run inning in the top of the second, and the Rebels found themselves behind for the remainder of the game. UK added a run in the top of the fourth to lead 7-2, but that’s when the Rebels made a run to get back in it.

After Lege walked and Groff singled to start things in the bottom of the fourth, Bo Gatlin grounded out but got an RBI as Lege scored. Treyson Hughes then singled to get Groff home. But the Ole Miss offense didn’t stop there. Eli Berch singled, and Brayden Randle doubled to score Hughes. Hill flew out to right to score Berch. Ole Miss had pulled to within a run at 7-6, and after four innings this was anybody’s ballgame.

Kentucky added two runs in the top of the fifth on a two-run James McCoy home run, and Ole Miss got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on a solo homer by Groff. But four runs in the top of the sixth inning for the Wildcats gave them quite a cushion and made it 13-7. UK put up four more in the top of the ninth before a solo home run by Ole Miss’ Ross accounted for the final margin of eight runs.

Wildcat starter Dominic Niman (5-2), the first of four UK pitchers in the game, got the win, while Doyle (2-1) got the loss. The Rebels went to the bullpen five times before this one was over as Mason Morris, Brayden Jones, Wes Mendes, Sam Tookoian, and Ryne Rodriguez all took the mound.

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.