Ole Miss Baseball Rolls Past North Alabama On Kids’ Day
OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Ole Miss welcomed North Alabama to Swayze Field for an exciting 2024 Kids Day game, where the Rebels came out with a 9-4 victory.
Grayson Saunier started on the mound and earned the win for the Rebels, allowing only four hits through 4.0 innings of work. A solo home run in the top of the fourth would be the only run Saunier gave to the Lions.
Luke Hill and Andrew Fischer both activated juice box showers into the outfield with a pair of home runs that brought in five runs for Ole Miss. Hill’s bomb marked his second of the season, eighth of his career. Fischer secured his 15th home run of the season and 26th of his career.
UNA (14-24, 6-12 ASUN) and Ole Miss (23-18, 6-12 SEC) were held to a standstill through the first two innings of the game on both sides of the field. In the bottom of the third, the Rebels ignited the offense stringing together five runs, four hits, and zero errors.
Will Furniss snagged a single to right field to send Ethan Groff home to secure the first run on the board for the Rebels. Jackson Ross then singled to center field and advanced Furniss which allowed Andrew Fischer to score, putting the Rebels up, 2-0. With Furniss on second and Ross on first, Luke Hill rounded out the scoring run for Ole Miss with a home run to right field.
Saunier held the Lions scoreless up to the fourth where a solo home run put North Alabama on the board, the only run the sophomore allowed on the day.
In the bottom of the fifth, Fischer went yard to add two more runs for Ole Miss, expanding the lead, 7-1.
Ethan Lege fought his way to second and with the help of a sacrifice fly out from Ross advanced home, putting the Rebels up 8-1 heading into the top of the fifth.
Kyler Carmack came in to relieve Saunier to start the fifth. North Alabama’s Gehrig Frei homered to center field with runners on first and third, making the score 8-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth with the Rebels allowing three runs and three hits.
To start the six, Sam Tookoian came in for Carmack and struck out three batters and allowed only one hit in his solo inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Judd Utermark snagged a double to left field, sending Hill home and adding the final run to the board for Ole Miss.
Connor Spencer came in to close the game for the Rebels and held the Lions to no runs and no hits.
The Rebels walked away with the 9-4 win moving their record to 23-18. Ole Miss will stay home the remainder of this week squaring off against Alabama starting on Thursday, April 25.
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.
